[Added 7-27-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-4]
This article shall be known as the "Township of Fairview Transportation
Impact Fee Ordinance."
The purpose of this article is to establish a transportation
impact fee to ensure that the transportation system is available and
adequate to support new growth and development. To advance this objective,
there is hereby created a transportation impact fee payable to Township
of Fairview at the time of building permit issuance (see Section 505-A(e)
of the MPC).
The Township of Fairview Board of Supervisors hereby finds and
declares that:
A. The conditions and standards for the determination and imposition
of the transportation impact fee set forth herein are those set forth
in Act 209 of 1990, Article V-A, Municipal Capital Improvement, of
the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10501-A
et seq., and any and all amendments thereto (hereinafter the "Act"),
and consists of:
(1) The recitals set forth above;
(2) The analysis, advice and recommendations of the Fairview Township
Transportation Impact Fee Advisory Commission;
(3) The Land Use Assumptions Report as adopted by the Township of Fairview
Board of Supervisors;
(4) The Roadway Sufficiency Analysis as adopted by the Township of Fairview
Board of Supervisors;
(5) The Transportation Capital Improvements Plan, as adopted by the Township
of Fairview Board of Supervisors; and
(6) Such other conditions and standards as the Township of Fairview Board
of Supervisors may by resolution identify from time to time as being
relevant and material to the imposition of a transportation impact
fee and consistent with the provisions of the Act and any amendments
thereto.
B. The collection, disbursement and accounting of transportation impact
fees shall be administered by the office of the Township Manager,
subject to review, oversight and control by the Township of Fairview
Board of Supervisors.
C. The amount of the per-peak-hour-trip transportation impact fees shall be as set forth in §
260-61 of this article.
D. The time, method and procedure for payment of transportation impact fees shall be as set forth in §
260-68 of this article.
E. The procedures for credits against transportation impact fees shall be as set forth in §
260-69 of this article.
F. The procedures for refunds of transportation impact fees shall be as set forth in §
260-70 of this article.
G. Such exemptions as the Board of Supervisors shall choose to enact be set forth in §
260-60 of this article.
The terms and definitions set forth in § 502-A of
the Act are hereby adopted and incorporated by reference in full in
this article as if they were attached hereto.
There are hereby enacted transportation impact fees to be imposed
upon new development, as defined in the Act, for the purpose of off-site
public transportation capital improvements authorized by the Act and
as described by the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan adopted
by the Township of Fairview Board of Supervisors. Said transportation
impact fees shall apply to all new subdivisions and land developments
within the transportation service areas established pursuant hereto,
and the imposition and payment shall be a condition precedent to the
issuance of any building permit for such subdivision or land development.
Transportation impact fees collected pursuant to this article
shall be expended for costs incurred for improvements attributable
to new development and designated in the Transportation Capital Improvements
Plan for improvements within the transportation service areas 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 transportation service area, and including
such proportionate amount of the roadway sufficiency analysis as is
allowed under the provisions of the Act.
The following documents, previously adopted by the Township
of Fairview Board of Supervisors, are hereby incorporated by reference
in full in this article, as if attached hereto:
A. Recommendations of the Transportation Impact Fee Advisory Committee,
including those set forth in the documents identified below.
B. Land Use Assumptions Report as adopted by Resolution No. 2014-20.
C. Roadway Sufficiency Analysis and Transportation Capital Improvements
Plan as adopted by Resolution No. 2015-11.
D. Transportation Service Areas Map as prepared by McMahon Transportation
Engineers and Planners, attached as Figure 10 to the Transportation
Capital Improvements Plan, and incorporated by reference in full herein,
as if attached hereto.
When determined necessary to assist the Board of Supervisors
in determining the appropriate amount of transportation impact fees,
the Township may require the preparation of a special transportation
study to determine the traffic generation or circulation patterns
in new, nonresidential development, provided, nevertheless, that no
special traffic studies may be required where the proposed development
will not require a deviation from the land use assumptions used to
create the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan. Any such special
studies required by the Township shall be done in accordance with
the applicable provisions of the Township Subdivision and Land Development
Ordinance. Any such studies required by the Township shall be submitted
prior to the imposition of the transportation impact fee and shall
be considered in the determination of such fee.
This article shall be uniformly applicable to all developments
that occur within the defined transportation service areas.
No building permit shall be issued for development in the transportation
service areas hereto unless the applicant therefor has paid the transportation
impact fees imposed by and calculated pursuant to this article.
The following new development or subdivision shall be exempt
from the imposition of the impact fee adopted pursuant to this article:
A. All new development or subdivisions which constitute affordable housing
to low- and moderate-income persons as defined in Act 209 (53 P.S.
§ 10501-A et seq.) shall be entitled to a credit of up to
100% against the impact fee otherwise assessable against said development.
B. All new development or subdivisions which are determined by the Township
of Fairview Board of Supervisors to serve an overriding public interest
shall be entitled to a credit of up to 100% against the otherwise
applicable impact fee.
A. The transportation impact fees 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 areas, which are attributable to and necessitated
by the new development within the transportation service areas as
calculated in accordance with the Act and herewith, divided by the
number of anticipated peak-hour trips generated by all new development
consistent with a) the adopted Land Use Assumptions Report and b)
calculated in accordance with the Trip Generation Manual published
by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, sixth or subsequent
editions, as amended, which is hereby adopted by Township of Fairview,
to equal a per-trip cost for transportation improvements within the
transportation service areas.
B. The specific transportation impact fee for a specific new subdivision
or land development within a transportation service area for road
improvements shall be determined as of the date of preliminary subdivision
or land development approval by multiplying the per-trip cost established
for the transportation service area by the estimated number of PM
peak-hour trips to be generated by the new subdivision or land development
using the Trip Generation Manual published by the Institute of Transportation
Engineers, sixth or subsequent editions, as amended.
C. The Township of Fairview may authorize or require the preparation
of a special transportation study in order to determine the traffic
generation or circulation for a new nonresidential development to
assist in the determination of the amount of the transportation fee
for such subdivision or land development.
A. Transportation Service Areas (TSA) Nos. 1, 2 and 3 are established
as shown on the Transportation Service Area Map prepared by McMahon
Transportation Engineers and Planners, attached as Figure 10 to the
Transportation Capital Improvements Plan, and incorporated by reference
in full herein. Additional transportation service areas or subareas
or combinations of transportation service areas or subareas may be
designated by the Township of Fairview Board of Supervisors from time
to time, consistent with the procedure set forth in this article and
in consideration of the following factors:
(2) Any standards for adequate public facilities incorporated in the
Transportation Capital Improvement Plan;
(3) The projected build-out and timing of development areas;
(4) The need for and cost of unprogrammed transportation improvements
necessary to support projected development; and
(5) Such other factors as the Township of Fairview Board of Supervisors
may deem relevant.
B. Fees collected from development in each transportation service area
or subarea will be used exclusively to fund transportation improvement
projects scheduled for that area or subarea.
The amount of per-peak-hour-trip fee for Transportation Service Area No. 1 (TSA No. 1) shall be $1,583; Transportation Service Area No. 2 (TSA No. 2) shall be $1,964; and Transportation Service Area No. 3 (TSA No. 3) shall be $0, respectively, unless revised or amended in accordance with the provisions hereof and the Act, calculated in accordance with §§ 503A(e)(1)(iv)(C) and 505-A(a)(1) of the Act and §
260-60 hereof, as follows:
A. Transportation Service Area No. 1. Total costs of road improvements
in TSA No. 1 included in the adopted Transportation Capital Improvements
Plan attributable to and necessitated by new development within the
transportation service area, including 50% of the estimated costs
of improvements to highways, roads and streets qualifying as a state
highway or portion of the rural highway system as provided in § 102
of the State Highway Law.
(1) Total costs attributable to Transportation Service Area No. 1: $6,179,225.
B. Transportation Service Area No. 2. Total costs of road improvements
in TSA No. 2 included in the adopted Transportation Capital Improvements
Plan attributable to and necessitated by new development within the
transportation service area, including 50% of the estimated costs
of improvements to highways, roads and streets qualifying as a state
highway or portion of the rural highway system as provided in § 102
of the State Highway Law.
(1) Total costs attributable to Transportation Service Area Transportation
Service Area No. 2: $4,937,481.
C. Transportation Service Area No. 3. Total costs of road improvements
in TSA No. 3 included in the adopted Transportation Capital Improvements
Plan attributable to and necessitated by new development within the
Transportation Service Area, including 50% of the estimated costs
of improvements to highways, roads and streets qualifying as a state
highway or portion of the rural highway system as provided in § 102
of the State Highway Law.
(1) Total costs attributable to Transportation Service Area Transportation
Service Area No. 3: $0.
There is hereby imposed an additional transportation impact
fee upon new developments which generate 1,000 or more new peak-hour
trips, net of pass-by trips as defined by the Trip Generation Manual
published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, sixth or subsequent
editions, during the peak-hour period designated in this article.
The applicant for such a development shall perform traffic analysis
of development traffic impact on highways, roads or streets outside
the transportation service area in which the development site is located
but within the boundaries of the Township of Fairview. Any such highways,
roads or streets or parts thereof outside the transportation service
area which will accommodate 10% or more of development traffic and
100 or more new peak hour trips shall be studied, and the applicant
shall mitigate the traffic impacts of the development on such highways,
roads and streets to maintain the predevelopment conditions after
completion of the development.
Any other provisions of this article to the contrary notwithstanding,
in accordance with the provisions of the Act, the Township of Fairview
may expend transportation impact fees paid by an applicant on projects
not contained in the Transportation Capital Improvement Plan or may
provide credit against the transportation impact fees for the value
of any construction projects not contained in the Transportation Capital
Improvement Plan or may provide credit against transportation impact
fees for the value of any construction projects not contained in the
Transportation Capital Improvement Plan which are performed at the
applicant's expense if all of the following criteria are met:
A. The applicant has provided written consent to use of its transportation
impact fees or the provision of such credit against the applicant's
transportation impact fees for the specific transportation projects
which are not included in the Transportation Capital Improvement Plan.
B. The alternative transportation projects, whether highway or multimodal,
have as their purpose the reduction of traffic congestion or the removal
of vehicle trips from the roadway work.
C. The Township of Fairview amends its Transportation Capital Improvement
Plan components required by Section 504-A(e)(1)(vi) of the Act to
provide replacement of the collected transportation impact fees transferred
to transportation projects outside the Transportation Capital Improvement
Plan from sources other than transportation impact fees or developer
contributions within three years of completion of the alternative
projects to which the transferred fees were applied or for which credit
was provided. All interest earned on such funds shall become funds
of that account. The Township of Fairview shall make an accounting
annually for any fund account containing transportation impact fee
proceeds and earned interest. Such accounting shall include, but not
be limited to, the total funds collected, the source of the funds
collected, the total amount of interest accruing on such funds and
the amount of funds expended on specific transportation improvements.
Notice of the availability of the results of the accounting shall
be included and published as part of the annual audit required by
the Township of Fairview. A copy of the report shall also be provided
to the Transportation Impact Fee Advisory Committee.
Prior to making an application for a building permit, an applicant
may request a nonbinding transportation impact fee estimate from the
Township of Fairview which shall be based upon the maximum development
potential of the site pursuant to existing zoning regulations, unless
the applicant specifies use of the development.
A. Collection of transportation impact fees due pursuant to this article
shall be collected by the Township of Fairview in the manner or manners
prescribed herein prior to the issuance of a building permit.
B. Establishment of the fund. Upon receipt of transportation impact
fees, the Township of Fairview 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 of Fairview 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.
C. Establishment and maintenance of accounts. The Township Secretary/Treasurer
shall establish appropriate trust fund accounts and shall maintain
records whereby transportation impact fees collected can be segregated
for each transportation service area.
D. Maintenance of records. The Township Secretary/Treasurer 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 monies 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 Transportation Capital
Improvements Plan for the particular transportation service area.
The transportation impact fee for a specific subdivision or land development shall be paid prior to the issuance of any building permit for the development. The transportation impact fee shall be paid to the municipality in cash, bank cashier's check, certified check or electronic fund transfer approved by the Township Secretary/Treasurer and shall be administered by the Township of Fairview in accordance with the provisions of §
260-67 hereof.
Any applicant who shall perform, at its own expense and the
consent and agreement of the Township of Fairview, off-site improvement,
as herein defined, shall be eligible for a credit from a transportation
impact fee otherwise due. Such credit shall not exceed the amount
of the transportation impact fee that would have been charged if a
credit was not due.
A. 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 and which
was performed at the applicant's expense.
B. If the applicant makes such improvements, he shall enter into an
agreement with the Township of Fairview prior to the issuance of any
building permit. The agreement shall establish the estimated cost
of the improvement, the schedule for initiation and completion of
the improvement, a requirement that the improvement be completed to
the Township of Fairview and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
standards and design criteria, as applicable, and such other terms
and conditions as deemed necessary by the Township of Fairview Board
of Supervisors. The Township of Fairview Board of Supervisors shall
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 transportation impact fee prior to issuance of
any building permit. The amount of such credit for any capital improvement
constructed shall be the amount allocated in the Transportation Capital
Improvement Plan, including contingency factors, for such improvement.
In no event shall the Township of Fairview Board of Supervisors provide
a credit which is greater than the applicable transportation impact
fee. If, however, the amount of the credit is calculated to be greater
than the amount of the transportation impact fee due, the applicant
may use such excess credit toward the transportation impact fees imposed
on other building permits for development on the same site and in
the same ownership. Any such applicant shall be required to supply
financial security sufficient, in the judgment of the Township of
Fairview, to cover the cost of any improvement installed by the applicant
for which credit is sought.
C. An applicant shall be entitled as a credit against transportation
impact fees an amount equal to fair market value of land dedicated
by the applicant to the Township of Fairview and accepted by the Township
of Fairview for future right-of-way, realignment or widening of existing
roadways. The fair market value of any land dedicated to and accepted
by the Township of Fairview shall be determined as of the date of
the submission of the subdivision or land development application
to the Township of Fairview.
Transportation impact fees collected pursuant to this article
shall be refunded, together with interest earned thereon, to the payor
of the transportation impact fees under the following circumstances:
A. In the event the Township of Fairview terminates or completes the
Transportation Capital Improvements Plan and there remains at the
time of termination or completion undisbursed funds, the respective
payors shall be entitled to a share of the fund balance in the same
proportion as the payor's transportation impact fee payment plus
interest earned bears to the total transportation impact fees collected
plus interest. The Township of Fairview shall provide written notice
by certified mail to each person who previously paid the fees and
remains undisbursed that such person's proportionate share of
the fund balance is available for refund to such person. Such notice
shall be provided to the last known address provided by the payor
of the transportation impact fees to the Township of Fairview. In
the event that any of the funds remain unclaimed following one year
after the notice, the Township of Fairview shall be authorized to
transfer any funds so remaining to any other fund in the Township
of Fairview without any further obligation to refund said funds. It
shall be the responsibility of the payor to provide the Township of
Fairview at all times with a current address for such notice.
B. In the event the Township of Fairview fails to commence construction
(i.e., earthwork or other municipally defined action) within three
years of the scheduled construction dates of the project as set forth
in the Transportation Capital Improvement Plan, the Township of Fairview
shall refund the portion of the transportation impact fee paid by
any payor making written request therefor which is attributable to
said project, with accumulated interest; provided, nevertheless, that
no refund shall be payable or paid with respect to any project actually
commenced prior to the receipt of such refund request, and the failure
of a payor to make such written request prior to the commencement
of such project shall be deemed a waiver of any right to such refund.
C. In the event that, upon completion of any road improvements project,
the actual expenditure for the project is less than 95% of the budgeted
costs for such project, the Township of Fairview shall refund the
pro rata difference between the budgeted costs and the actual expenditures,
including interest accumulated thereon from the date of payment, to
the person or persons who paid the impact fees for such improvements.
D. In the event the development for which transportation impact fees
were paid has not commenced prior to the expiration of the building
permit issued therefor, the transportation building permit after issuance
is altered in such a way as to reduce the amount of the transportation
impact fee due, the difference between such amount and the amount
actually paid shall be refunded. The payor, at its option, may roll
over the transportation impact fees attributable to an expired building
permit to cover fees incurred by a new permit.
This article shall not affect, in any manner, the permissible
use of property, density or development, previously adopted design
and improvement standards and requirements or any other aspect of
the subdivision or land development or provision of public improvements
which remain subject to applicable zoning, subdivision and land development
and planned residential development regulations of the Township of
Fairview, which shall be operative and remain in full force and effect
without limitation with respect to such development.
The transportation impact fee is additional and supplemental
to, and not in substitution of, any other requirements imposed by
the Township of Fairview on the development of land or the issuance
of building permits. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to alter
or affect the Township of Fairview'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 article;
provided, nevertheless, that a property owner may be required to pay,
pursuant to the Township of Fairview ordinances, regulations or policies,
for other public facilities in addition to the transportation impact
fee as provided herein.
It is hereby found and declared to be the intention of the Township
of Fairview that the public health, safety and welfare be protected
and furthered by the provisions of this article, and it shall be interpreted
and construed liberally to effectively carry out its purposes and
in such manner as to favor such public interest as opposed to any
private interest.
A. Any person required to pay an impact fee shall have the right to
contest the land use assumptions, the development and implementation
of the transportation capital improvement program, the imposition
of impact fees, the periodic updating of the transportation capital
improvement program, the refund of impact fees and all other matters
relating to impact fees, including the constitutionality or validity
of the impact fee ordinance by filing an appeal with the court of
common pleas.
B. A master may be appointed by the court to hear testimony on the issues
and return the record and a transcript of the testimony, together
with a report and recommendations, or the court may appoint a master
to hold a non-record hearing and to make recommendations and return
the same to the court, in which case either party may demand a hearing
de novo before the court. Any cost incurred by parties in such an
appeal shall be the separate responsibility of the parties.