Borough of Franklin Park, PA Article 1100 Fees

§ 184-1101 Application review and inspection fees.

A. Application filing fees. Application filing fees shall be established from time to time by resolution of Borough Council. The application filing fees shall cover the administrative costs, including advertising, associated with processing an application for approval of a subdivision or land development and shall be payable to the Borough of Franklin Park at the time of submission of the application.

B. Application review fees.

(1) Application review fees shall include reasonable and necessary charges by the Borough's professional consultants for review and report on an application for approval of a subdivision or land development. Such review fees shall be based on a schedule established from time to time by resolution of Borough Council. Such review fees shall be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary charges by the professional consultants for similar service to the Borough.

(2) The Borough shall submit to the applicant itemized bills showing work performed, identifying the person performing services and the time and date spent for each task. In the event that the applicant disputes the amount of any such review fees, the applicant shall, no later than 45 days after the date of transmittal of the bill to the applicant, notify the Borough Manager and the professional consultant in writing that such fees are disputed and shall explain the basis of his objections to the fees charged, in which case the Borough shall not delay or disapprove a subdivision or land development application due to the applicant's dispute over fees. Failure of the applicant to dispute a bill within 45 days shall be a waiver of the applicant's right to arbitration of that bill under Subsection D.

(3) In the event that the Borough's professional consultant and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of review fees which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant and the Borough shall follow the procedure for resolution of disputes set forth in Subsection D, provided that the arbitrator resolving the dispute shall be of the same profession or discipline as the professional consultant whose fees are being disputed.

(4) Subsequent to a decision on an application, the Borough shall submit to the applicant an itemized bill for review fees, specifically designated as a final bill. The final bill shall include all review fees incurred at least through the date of the decision on the application. If for any reason additional review is required subsequent to the decision, including inspections and other work to satisfy the conditions of the approval, the review fees shall be charged to the applicant as a supplement to the final bill.

C. Inspection fees.

(1) The applicant shall reimburse the Borough for the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the inspection of improvements. The applicant shall not be required to reimburse the Borough for any inspection which is duplicative of inspections conducted by other governmental agencies or public utilities. The burden of proving that any inspection is duplicative shall be upon the objecting applicant. Such reimbursement shall be based upon a schedule established from time to time by resolution of Borough Council. Such expenses shall be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary fees charged by the Borough's professional consultants for similar service to the Borough.

(2) The Borough shall submit to the applicant an itemized bill showing the work performed in connection with the inspection of improvements performed, identifying the person performing the services and the time and date spent for each task. In the event the applicant disputes the amount of any such expense in connection with the inspection of improvements, the applicant shall, no later than 30 days after the date of transmittal of a bill for inspection services, notify the Borough and the Borough's professional consultant in writing that such inspection expenses are disputed as unreasonable or unnecessary and shall explain the basis of his or her objections to the fees charged, in which case the Borough shall not delay or disapprove a request for release of financial security, a subdivision or land development application or any approval or permit related to development due to the applicant's dispute of inspection expenses. Failure of the applicant to dispute a bill within 30 days shall be a waiver of the applicant's right to arbitration of that bill under Subsection D.

(3) Subsequent to the final release of financial security for completion of improvements for a subdivision or land development, or any phase thereof, the professional consultant shall submit to the Borough a bill for inspection services, specifically designated as a final bill. The final bill shall include inspection fees incurred through the release of financial security.

D. Resolution of disputes.

(1) If the professional consultant and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of expenses which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant shall have the right, within 45 days of the transmittal of the final bill or supplement to the final bill to the applicant, to request the appointment of another professional consultant to serve as an arbitrator. The applicant and professional consultant whose fees are being challenged shall, by mutual agreement, appoint another professional consultant to review any bills the applicant has disputed and which remain unresolved and make a determination as to the amount thereof which is reasonable and necessary. The arbitrator shall be of the same profession as the professional consultant whose fees are being challenged.

(2) The arbitrator so appointed shall hear such evidence and review such documentation as the arbitrator, in his or her sole opinion, deems necessary and shall render a decision no later than 50 days after the date of appointment. Based on the decision of the arbitrator, the applicant or the professional consultant whose fees were challenged shall be required to pay any amounts necessary to implement the decision within 60 days. In the event the Borough has paid the professional consultant an amount in excess of the amount determined to be reasonable and necessary, the professional consultant shall within 60 days reimburse the excess payment.

(3) In the event that the Borough's professional consultant and applicant cannot agree upon the arbitrator to be appointed within 20 days of the request for appointment of an arbitrator, then, upon application of either party, the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County shall appoint such arbitrator, who, in that case, shall be neither the Borough's professional consultant nor any professional consultant who has been retained by or performed services for the municipality or the applicant within the preceding five years.

(4) The fee of the arbitrator shall be paid by the applicant if the review fee charged is sustained by the arbitrator; otherwise, it shall be divided equally between the parties. If the disputed fees are found to be excessive by more than $5,000, the arbitrator shall have the discretion to assess the arbitration fee in whole or in part against either the applicant or the professional consultant. The Borough and the professional consultant whose fees are the subject of the dispute shall be parties to the proceeding.