[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 101]
This Part shall be known as the "West Norriton Township Traffic
Impact Fee Ordinance."
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 102]
The purpose of this Part is to establish an impact fee program
to ensure that the transportation system is available and adequate
to support new growth and development. To advance this objective,
there is hereby created an impact fee payable to the Township prior
to building permit issuance.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 103]
The Board of Commissioners hereby finds and declares that:
A.
The conditions and standards for the determination and imposition
of the impact fee set forth herein are those set forth in Act 209
of 1990, and any and all amendments thereto (hereinafter the "Act"),
and consist of:
(1)
The recitals set forth above.
(2)
The analysis, advice and recommendation of the Traffic Advisory
Committee.
(3)
The land use assumptions as adopted by the Board of Commissioners.
(4)
The Roadway Sufficiency Analysis as adopted by the Board of
Commissioners.
(5)
The transportation capital improvements plan, as adopted by
the Board of Commissioners.
(6)
Such other conditions and standards as the Board of Commissioners
may, by resolution, identify from time to time as being relevant and
material to the imposition of an impact fee and consistent with the
provisions of the Act and any amendments thereto.
B.
The collection, disbursement and accounting of impact fees shall
be administered by the Office of the Township Manager subject to review,
oversight and control by the Board of Commissioners.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 104]
The terms and definitions set forth in Section 502A of the Act
are hereby adopted and incorporated in this Part by reference.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 105]
There is hereby enacted an impact fee to be imposed upon new
development for the purpose of off-site public transportation capital
improvements authorized by the Act and as described in the program
adopted by the Board of Commissioners. Said impact fee shall apply
to all new developments or subdivisions within the transportation
service area identified herein and shall be a condition precedent
to final approval of a development or a subdivision plan or issuance
of a building permit.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 106]
Impact fees collected pursuant to this Part shall be expended
for costs incurred for improvements attributable to new development
and designated in the transportation capital improvements plan adopted
by the Board of Commissioners for improvements within the transportation
service area in which the new development will be located. Additionally,
such fees may be used for the acquisition of land and rights-of-way,
engineering, legal and planning costs and all other costs, including
debt service, related to road improvements within the designated service
area, and including such proportionate amount of the Roadway Sufficiency
Analysis as is allowed under the provisions of the Act.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 107]
The following documents previously adopted by the Board of Commissioners
are hereby incorporated by reference in this Part:
A.
Land use assumptions as adopted by Township resolution.
B.
The Roadway Sufficiency Analysis as adopted by Township resolution.
C.
The transportation capital improvements plan as adopted by Township
resolution.
D.
The impact fee schedule as established by Township resolution.
E.
Designation of transportation districts as set forth on the Transportation
Service Area Map identified as Figure 1 of the Roadway Sufficiency
Analysis and transportation capital improvements plan dated May, 2003.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 108]
1.
Where intended to assist in determining the appropriate amount of
traffic impact fees, the Township may require the preparation of special
transportation studies to determine the traffic generation or circulation
patterns in new nonresidential developments only; provided, however,
that no studies may be required where the proposed development will
not require a deviation from the land use assumptions used to create
the program.
2.
Any such studies required by the Township shall be submitted prior
to the imposition of the impact fee and shall be considered in the
determination of the fee.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 109]
This Part shall be uniformly applicable to all development that
occurs within the transportation service area designated herein.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 110]
No building permit shall be issued for a development in the
transportation service area designated herein, unless the applicant
therefore has paid the impact fee imposed by and calculated pursuant
to this Part.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 111]
1.
The impact fee for transportation capital improvements shall be based
upon the total costs of the road improvements included in the adopted
transportation capital improvements plan within the transportation
service area attributable to and necessitated by new development within
the service area as defined, divided by the number of anticipated
peak-hour trips generated by all new development consistent with the
adopted land use assumptions and calculated in accordance with the
Trip Generation Manual published by the Institute of Transportation
Engineers, sixth or subsequent editions, which is hereby adopted by
the Township, to equal a per-trip cost for transportation improvements
within the service area.
2.
The specific impact fee for a specific new development or subdivision
within the transportation service area for road improvements shall
be determined as of the date of preliminary land development or subdivision
approval by multiplying the per-trip cost established for the service
area as determined in the transportation capital improvement plan
by the estimated number of trips to be generated by the new development
or subdivision using generally accepted traffic engineering standards.
3.
The Board of Commissioners may authorize or require the preparation
of a special transportation study in order to determine traffic generation
or circulation for a new nonresidential development to assist in the
determination of the amount of the transportation fee for such development
or subdivision.
4.
The amount of the per-peak-hour trip fee for the transportation service
area is hereby determined to be $734.44. This impact fee may be changed
by resolution of the Township Board of Commissioners based upon calculations
conducted in accordance with this Part and the Act.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 112]
1.
The transportation service area is hereby established to be the entire
area of West Norriton Township.
2.
Additional transportation district subareas or combinations of transportation
district subareas may be designated by the Board of Commissioners
from time to time consistent with the procedure set forth in this
Part and in consideration of the following factors:
A.
The Comprehensive Plan.
B.
Any standards for adequate public facilities incorporated in the
program.
C.
The projected build-out and timing of development areas.
D.
The need for and cost of unprogrammed transportation improvements
necessary to support projected development.
E.
Such other factors as the Board of Commissioners may deem relevant.
3.
Fees collected from development in the transportation service area
will be used exclusively to fund transportation improvement projects
scheduled for that area.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 113]
Prior to making an application for a building permit, an applicant
may request a nonbinding impact fee estimate from the Township, which
shall be based upon the maximum development potential of the site
pursuant to existing zoning regulations, unless the applicant specifies
a lesser use of development.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 114]
1.
Collection of Impact Fee. Impact fees due pursuant to this Part shall
be collected by the Township in the manner or manners prescribed herein
relating to the issuance of a building permit.
2.
Accounting. Upon receipt of impact fees, the Township Manager shall
be responsible for the separate and proper accounting of such fees.
All such fees shall be deposited in interest-bearing accounts in a
bank authorized to receive deposits of the Township funds. Interest
earned by each account shall be credited to that account and shall
be used solely for the purpose specified for funds of such account.
3.
Establishment and Maintenance of Accounts. The Township Manager shall
establish appropriate trust fund accounts and shall maintain records
whereby impact fees collected can be segregated for each transportation
district subarea.
4.
Maintenance of Records. The Township Manager shall maintain and keep
adequate financial records for each such account which shall show
the source and disbursement of all revenues, which shall account for
all moneys received, and which shall ensure that the disbursement
of funds from each account shall be used solely and exclusively for
the provision of projects specified in the program for the particular
transportation district subareas.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 115]
Payment of the transportation capital improvements impact fee
shall be made by the traffic generator prior to the issuance of a
building permit by the Township to the traffic generator for development
on the applicable site.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 116]
1.
Any applicant who shall perform, at its own expense and with the
consent and agreement of the Board of Commissioners, off-site improvements,
as herein defined, shall be eligible for a credit from the impact
fee otherwise due in the amount of the actual cost of such off-site
improvements as approved by the Township Engineer. If the applicant
makes such improvements, the applicant must enter into an agreement
with the Board of Commissioners prior to the issuance of any building
permit. The agreement must establish the estimated cost of the improvement,
the schedule for initiation and completion of the improvement, a requirement
that the improvement be completed to Township and Pennsylvania Department
of Transportation standards and design criteria and such other terms
and conditions as deemed necessary by the Board of Commissioners.
The Board of Commissioners must review the improvement plan, verify
costs and time schedules, determine if the improvement is an eligible
improvement and determine the amount of the applicable credit for
such improvement to be applied to the otherwise applicable impact
fee prior to issuance of any building permit.
2.
An applicant shall be entitled as a credit against impact fees an
amount equal to the fair market value of land dedicated by the applicant
and accepted by the Township for future right-of-way, realignment
or widening of existing roadways.
3.
An applicant shall be entitled as a credit against impact fees an
amount equal to the value of any road improvement construction which
is contained in the transportation capital improvements plan, which
was performed at the applicant's expense and which was approved
by the Township.
4.
In no event shall the Board of Commissioners provide a credit which
is greater than the applicable impact fee. If, however, the amount
of the credit is calculated to be greater than the amount of the impact
fee due, the applicant may use such excess credit toward the impact
fees imposed on other building permits for development on the same
site and in the same ownership, provided that any such applicant shall
be required to supply financial security sufficient, in the judgment
of the Township, to cover the cost of any such improvement installed
by the applicant for which credit is sought.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 117]
1.
Impact fees collected pursuant to this Part shall be refunded, together
with interest earned thereon, to the payor of the fees under the following
circumstances:
A.
In the event the Township completes or terminates the transportation
capital improvements plan and there remain undisbursed funds, the
respective payors shall be entitled to a share of the fund balance
in the same proportion as the payor's impact fee payment plus
interest earned bears to the total impact fees collected plus interest.
B.
In the event any specific road improvement project is completed at
a cost to the Township less than 95% of the budgeted cost of the road
project, the Township shall refund an amount equal to the excess budgeted
cost over actual cost to the payors, pro rata, plus accumulated interest.
C.
In the event the Township fails to commence construction within three
years of the scheduled construction date of the project as set forth
in the transportation capital improvements plan, the Township shall
refund the portion of the fee paid by a payor making written request
thereof which is attributable to said project, with accumulated interest,
provided no refund shall be paid with respect to any project actually
begun prior to the receipt of such refund request.
D.
In the event the development for which impact fees were paid has
not commenced prior to the expiration of the building permit issued
thereof, the impact fees paid with accumulated interest shall be refunded
to the payor. Further, if a building permit after issuance is altered
in such a way as to reduce the indicated impact fee, the difference
between the amount indicated and the amount actually paid shall be
refunded. The payor at his option may roll over the impact fees attributable
to an expired building permit to cover fees incurred by a renewal
of said expired permit.
2.
With respect to refunds arising out of Subsection 1A or B hereof,
any funds unclaimed within one year after notice as required by law
shall be transferred to the general account of the Township, and the
payor's entitlement to said refund shall lapse. It is the responsibility
of the payor to provide the Township with the current address of his
place of business.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 118]
This Part shall not affect, in any manner, the permissible use
of property, density of development, previously adopted design and
improvement standards and requirements or any other aspect of the
development of land or provision for public improvements which remain
subject to applicable zoning and subdivision/land development regulations
of the Township, which shall be operative and remain in full force
and effect without limitation with respect to all such development.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 119]
The impact fee is additional and supplemental to, and not in
substitution of any other requirements by the Township on the development
of land or the issuance of building permits. Nothing herein contained
shall be deemed to alter or affect the Township's existing ordinances
and regulations regarding on-site improvements. In no event shall
a property owner be obligated to pay for transportation capital improvements
in an amount in excess of the amount calculated pursuant to this Part;
provided, however, that a property owner may be required to pay, pursuant
to Township ordinances, regulations or policies, for other public
facilities in addition to the impact fee for transportation improvements
as provided herein.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 120]
The provisions of this Part shall be liberally construed to
effectively carry out its purposes which are hereby found and declared
to be in furtherance of the public health, safety, welfare and convenience.
[Ord. 586, 7/7/2003, § 121]
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, impact
fees shall be imposed on those projects involving developments, subdivisions
and PRDs for which an application has been filed on or after the first
publication of notice of the Township's intent to adopt this
Part, said notice having been published on January 22, 2002.
