[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Cumberland
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-28-2001; amended 4-9-2012]
This article is adopted pursuant to home rule powers as provided
for in Article VIII, Part 2, Section 1, of the Maine Constitution
and 30-A M.R.S.A. §§ 3001 and 4354.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Recreational
Facilities and Open Space Impact Fee Ordinance of the Town of Cumberland,
Maine" and will be referred to herein as "this article."
The general purposes of this article are to maintain the Town's
financial capacity to provide adequate public facilities to meet the
additional needs for recreation and open space created by future residents.
Further, this article establishes a fair and equitable process by
which to ensure that new residential development in the Town of Cumberland
will be accomplished in a safe and healthful manner and that such
development will bear a proportional or reasonably related share of
the cost of new, expanded or modified recreational infrastructure
necessary to service such development through the payment of impact
fees that shall be dedicated to paying for the needed improvements.
[Amended 7-23-2012]
A.
New residential structures:
(1)
This
article shall apply to the issuance of any building permit for a new
residential structure within the Town of Cumberland.
(2)
This
article shall not apply to the issuance of a building permit for the
repair, replacement or reconstruction of a residential structure that
was unintentionally damaged or destroyed by fire, flood or other natural
disaster, provided that the number of dwelling units is not increased.
(3)
This article shall apply to the issuance of a building permit for the replacement or reconstruction of a residential structure that was intentionally demolished, provided that the first 1,000 square feet or the square footage of the demolished structure, whichever is greater, shall be exempt from calculation of the impact fee as set forth in § 137-11.
(4)
This
article shall not apply to the issuance of a building permit to relocate
an existing residential structure to a new lot within the Town of
Cumberland.
(5)
This article shall apply to the issuance of a building permit for a new residential structure on the lot from which another residential structure was previously relocated, provided that the first 1,000 square feet or the square footage of the previously relocated structure, whichever is greater, shall be exempt from calculation of the impact fee as set forth in § 137-11.
B.
Additions to residential structures:
(1)
This
article shall not apply to additions to residential structures existing
at the time of the adoption of this article.
(2)
This article shall apply to any addition to a residential structure built following the adoption of this article where such addition is made within five years of the issuance of the original building permit. The fee for any such addition shall be assessed as for new construction as set forth in § 137-11 below, except that the initial one-thousand-square-foot discount shall not apply. This article shall not apply to additions to residential structures made after the expiration of five years from the issuance of the original building permit.
C.
This article shall not apply to any project that converts an existing
municipal structure into a senior housing project.
D.
No building permit shall be granted for any residential construction
activity described herein that requires payment of an impact fee under
this article until the impact fees hereby required have been paid.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Includes the entire floor area of each floor measured from
the outside of exterior walls, and shall include all interior partitions
and spaces whether finished or not, but shall exclude basements, garages
intended for the storage of automobiles, unheated porches and any
portion of a room or attic with sloping ceilings measuring less than
five feet from floor to ceiling.
Charges or assessments imposed by the Town of Cumberland
against new residential structures to help with the acquisition and
development of recreation lands and facilities and for the acquisition
and preservation of open space for the future use and enjoyment of
the Town's residents.
[Amended 7-23-2012]
Any living unit, including those in single-family homes,
multifamily homes, attached and/or detached residential structures,
condominiums, apartments, manufactured housing and mobile homes.
A residential development constructed solely for elderly
residents who meet strictly enforced age guidelines and within which
the residential units are by deed or covenant restricted to occupation
by residents who meet such age guidelines.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall collect the impact fee prior to the issuance of any building permit for residential construction that is subject to the fee. The amount of the fee shall be based upon the procedure set out in § 137-11 below.
All impact fees collected under the provisions of this article
shall be segregated from the Town's general fund revenue and
be accounted for in a separate impact fee account.
A.
Impact fees collected under the provisions of this article shall
only be used to pay for site acquisition and capital improvements
for the creation or expansion of recreational facilities and for the
acquisition and related improvement of open space. No portion of the
fee shall be used for routine maintenance or operation activities.
B.
The following costs are examples of, but are not intended to limit,
capital improvements:
(1)
Acquisition of land or easements, including conservation easements
and development rights.
(2)
Engineering, surveying and environmental assessment services directly
related to the acquisition, design, construction and continued upgrading
of the improvement.
(3)
The actual construction of the improvement, including, without limitation,
demolition costs, clearing and grading of land, and necessary capital
equipment dedicated to the site.
(4)
Mitigation costs.
(5)
Legal and administrative costs associated with construction of the
improvement, including any borrowing necessary to finance the project.
(6)
Debt service costs, including interest if the Town borrows for the
acquisition or construction of the improvement.
(7)
Relocation costs.
(8)
Similar costs that are directly related to the improvement project.
A.
If a building permit or other relevant permit is surrendered or expires
without commencement of construction, the developer shall be entitled
to a refund, without interest, of the impact fee paid as a condition
of its issuance. A request for a refund shall be made in writing to
the Town Planner and shall occur within 90 days of the expiration
of the permit.
B.
If the funds collected annually are not expended or obligated by
contract for their intended purpose by the end of the calendar quarter
immediately following 10 years from the date the fee was paid, the
prorated share of the funds shall be returned to the current owner
of the property for which the fee was paid, provided that a request
is made in writing to the Town Planner within 180 days of the expiration
of the ten-year period.
The Town Council may, by formal vote following a public hearing,
waive the payment of a required impact fee, in whole or in part, if
it finds that:
A.
The developer or property owner who would otherwise be responsible
for the payment of the impact fee voluntarily agrees to construct
an improvement for which the impact fee would be collected or an equivalent
improvement approved by the Town Council.
B.
The developer of a subdivision offers to dedicate and/or improve
public lands or recreational amenities and the Town Council finds
these public lands or recreational amenities to be of Town-wide benefit.
The recreational facilities and open space impact fee shall
be a per-square-foot fee established by the Town Council and shall
be based upon the Town's impact fee calculation methodology.
This methodology has been adopted by the Town Council and is on file
and available for review in the Town Planner's office.[1] The amount of the fee paid by a developer shall be determined
by multiplying the gross floor area as defined in this article less
1,000 square feet by the per-square-foot fee established herein. The
total amount of the impact fee due for each project shall be determined
by the developer, subject to the approval of the Code Enforcement
Officer (CEO), using the impact fee calculation worksheet provided
by the CEO and shall be based upon the following:
A.
The developer shall determine, subject to the CEO's approval,
the gross floor area of the residential structure subject to the impact
fee based upon plans and other documents submitted by the developer.
B.
The developer shall determine, subject to the CEO's approval,
the total impact fee due by multiplying $1.40 per square foot of gross
floor area, less 1,000 square feet.
C.
The one-thousand-square-foot reduction in gross floor area discussed
in this section shall not apply to residential additions made within
five years of the issuance of the original building permit for the
home.
[1]
Editor's Note: The impact fee methodology is included at the end of this chapter.
Should any section, phrase, sentence or portion of this article
be found to be in conflict with other local, state or federal ordinances
or regulations, the more stringent section or provision shall prevail.
Existing provisions for building permit fees are to be held separate
from the impact fees described herein and are not affected by this
article.
The Town Council shall periodically review each impact fee established
under this article. If the Council finds that the anticipated cost
of the improvement has changed or that the identification of development
subject to the fee is no longer appropriate, the Council may adopt
changes to the impact fee. Any changes adopted as a result of such
review shall apply to all future development but shall not apply retroactively
to projects that have already paid an impact fee. A public hearing
shall be held prior to the adoption of any amendment. Notice of such
public hearing shall be in accordance with state and local requirements.
A developer may appeal the determination of the Code Enforcement
Officer as to either the applicability of the impact fee to a particular
project, the gross floor area subject to the fee, or the amount of
the fee to be paid. Appeals shall be made in writing to the CEO within
10 days of the CEO's initial determination of the amount of the
impact fee due for a particular residential structure. The Board of
Adjustment and Appeals shall consider such appeal at its next regularly
scheduled meeting and shall issue a determination either upholding
the CEO's decision or modifying the CEO's decision within
seven days of the date of the hearing at which the appeal was heard.
