[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of East Fishkill as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-23-2012 by L.L. No. 5-2012[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed former Art.
I, Professional Consultant Expenses, adopted 1-11-1996 by L.L. No.
1-1996, as amended. This local law provided for an effective date
of 10-1-2012.
A.
Compensation required. In order to conduct a reasonable, full and
proper review of an application for a subdivision, site plan, special
permit, use variance, zoning interpretation, zoning amendment or rezoning,
the reviewing board before which the application is pending shall,
pursuant to this article, require the applicant to compensate the
Town for the actual cost of professional consultant reviews reasonably
necessary to complete the review of the project. The reviews governed
by this article shall include review of all land use applications,
and all environmental reviews pursuant to law, including review of
the proposed action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act
(SEQR).
B.
Review fees covered. The fees governed by this article include those
of the professional consultant reviews, including:
(1)
Those by the engineer to the Town, the planner to the Town and the
attorney to the Town;
(2)
Those by any other professional consultants, as required under the
circumstances of a particular application; and
(3)
Those costs incurred by professional employees of the Town (Engineer,
Attorney and Planner) for time incurred in reviewing an application.
C.
Exclusion of administrative fees. The professional fees provided
for herein are in addition to application or administrative fees required
pursuant to other sections of the East Fishkill Code.
D.
Avoiding duplication. Review fees attributable to environmental reviews
under SEQR shall in no event exceed the maximum amounts to be charged
pursuant to the SEQR Regulations, 16 NYCRR 617.17 (after January 1,
1996, renumbered to Section 617.13). SEQR reviews and underlying permit
reviews shall be combined wherever practicable.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any application for a subdivision, site plan, specific permit,
use variance, zoning amendment, rezoning or zoning interpretation.
The application shall also be deemed to include the SEQR-related environmental
documents submitted to evaluate the proposed action.
The Town's planning, engineering and legal consultants
or employees. The term also includes other specialized consultants
in land use and environmental matters retained in individual cases,
including title examiners, traffic consultants, and other technical
and environmental experts.
All actual expenses incurred by the Town relating to the
professional consultant review of the application, as well as any
escrow established by the Supervisor or Town Engineer to cover the
expenses incurred in unique individual situations and applications.
The Town Board, Planning Board or Zoning Board as the case
may be.
A.
Escrow required. No land use application or other request for Town
review shall be considered complete for review purposes, and no professional
reviews shall commence, until this article is complied with and, where
required, an escrow account is established and funded.
B.
Contracts required. The fees to be paid to the consultants shall
be established pursuant to contract authorized by the Town Board,
pursuant to the provisions of Town Board shall ensure that such contractual
fees to be charged are consistent with fees for services then prevailing
in the surrounding geographical area.
C.
Employee fees will be in accord with the hourly rates upon which
the employee's actual salary is based, fringe benefits and reasonable
overhead.
A.
Sketch plan, discussion or conceptual review. When an applicant files
an application for a sketch plan or conceptual review, the applicant
shall fund an escrow account in the amount of $250 prior to commencement
of review. This amount is intended to cover an informal Board review,
which is often requested even prior to the submission of a formal
application of the paying of any application fees. The informal sketch,
discussion or conceptual review shall not include any formal engineering
or other professional review unless the applicant establishes an escrow
as set by the Town Board.
B.
Preliminary plat or site plan review. When an applicant for preliminary
subdivision plat or site plan review. When an applicant files an application
for preliminary subdivision plat or site plan approval, the applicant
shall fund an escrow account in an amount as set by the Town Board,
prior to the commencement of review.
C.
Custody of accounts. The escrow amount shall be placed in an account
established for such purpose. All review fees required pursuant to
this article shall be collected by the Clerk/Secretary of the Planning
and Zoning Boards. The Town Comptroller shall set up escrow funds
as part of a trust and agency fund where consultant fees incurred
by the Town pursuant to this section shall be audited and paid from
such special fund and not the general fund. The Clerk/Secretary of
the Planning Board and Zoning Board shall have custody of escrow account
records.
D.
Adjustment in the required escrow amounts. The Town Board will, by
resolution, establish the amounts of any required escrows and set
all fees required herein. These amounts can be adjusted by the Town
Board from time to time.
A.
Audit of vouchers. All vouchers submitted by professional consultants
shall be reviewed and audited by Town officials in the same manner
as all other charges. The Town shall approve payment of only such
fees as are reasonable in amount and are necessarily incurred by the
Town in connection with the review. A fee shall be considered reasonable
in amount if it bears a reasonable relationship to fees prevailing
in the surrounding geographical area for similar services in similar
projects. In determining similarity of services and projects, the
Town may consider the size of the project, the topography, soil conditions,
drainage conditions, surface water conditions, other site constraints,
and the nature of the improvements to be constructed, the nature of
the planning, engineering or legal issues arising in the factual context
of the application. In determining whether the fees were necessarily
incurred, the Town may consider, in addition to the factors listed
above, the nature of the materials provided by the applicants, the
manner in which the service relates to the issues which must be decided
by the Town in reviewing the application, whether the service provided
reasonably assists the Board in performing a function required by
law or regulation and such other factors as may be relevant in the
factual context of the application. Records shall be maintained showing
all amounts deposited, and all amounts paid from the escrow account
and all bills and vouchers submitted by the Town professional consultants.
The applicant shall in no case be billed for more than the Town has
actually expended for consultant/employee review fees.
B.
Payment of audited vouchers. The Town Comptroller shall make withdrawals
from the escrow account to pay the cost of consultant review services,
as established by itemized voucher to the Town. In no case shall an
applicant make direct payment to any of the Town's professional
consultants.
C.
Town Board review. Within 30 days of receiving any voucher for professional
consultant fees, whether it has been paid or not, an applicant may
file a written request to the Town Board seeking review of the charges
therein, to determine whether such fees are reasonable in amount and
are necessarily incurred by the Town in connection with the review,
under the standards set forth in this article.
A.
When the balance in such escrow account is reduced to 1/3 of the
required fee, the applicant shall replenish the amount of the escrow
account to the full amount required.
B.
If the applicant fails to make the escrow deposit, or fails to promptly
replenish the amount in the escrow account within 15 days of the Town's
request, professional reviews shall not begin or continue, as the
case may be, until such time as the escrow account is funded or replenished.
The Board may also consider an application abandoned if nonpayment
of escrow fees continues for more than two months, and the Board may
deny an application based upon such abandonment.
Payment by the applicant of professional fees actually incurred
in the review of the application shall be required prior to:
A.
Any approval of the application by the reviewing board. The Town
Board, Planning Board or Zoning Board, as the case may be, shall not
take any action or grant approval of any kind on any application until
the Clerk/Secretary has certified to the Board that review fees actually
incurred to the date of approval under this article have been fully
paid and/or reimbursed, and that sufficient escrow amounts remain
to cover any costs for professional reviews which will be incurred
thereafter until the conclusion of the matter, including time spent,
but not yet billed, as of the date of final Planning Board action,
costs for review of proposed deeds and offers of cession, and similar
matters.
B.
Any administrative action in furtherance of an approval. In the event
that any approval is granted and professional review fees remain to
be paid, the reviewing board shall not take any further administrative
action in furtherance of the approval until sufficient provision is
made for the payment of these fees. For example, no rezoning amendment
at the request of an applicant shall be forwarded for filing with
the Secretary of State until the Clerk/Secretary of the Planning Board
has certified in writing to the Town Clerk that all professional review
fees actually incurred to date have been fully paid and/or reimbursed,
and that sufficient escrow amounts remain to cover any professional
review costs which will be incurred thereafter until the conclusion
of the matter. Similarly, no site plan or subdivision plat approved
by the Planning Board shall be signed unless the Clerk/Secretary has
certified in writing to the Chair that all professional review fees
actually incurred to date have been fully paid and/or reimbursed,
and that sufficient escrow amounts remain to cover any costs for professional
reviews which will be incurred thereafter until the conclusion of
the matter.
C.
Issuance of building permits and certificates of occupancy. No building
permits or certificate of occupancy or use shall be issued unless
all professional review fees charged in connection with the project
have been paid and reimbursed.
Any balance remaining in the escrow account shall be refunded
within a reasonable time upon applicant's request, upon completion
of project review, or upon withdrawal of an application, after all
fees already incurred by the Town are first paid and deducted from
the escrow account.
In the event the applicant fails to reimburse to the Town funds
expended to consultants as provide herein, the following remedies
may apply:
A.
The Town may seek recovery of billed and unpaid fees by bringing
an action venued in a court appropriate jurisdiction, and the applicant
shall pay the Town's reasonable attorney fees in prosecuting
such action in addition to any judgment.
B.
Alternatively, and at the sole discretion of the Town Board, an applicant's
failure to comply with this article by paying professional review
fees by escrow, or in failing to reimburse the Town for fees expended
by the Town for professional review fees, may be remedied by charging
such sums, together with any legal or other professional fees incurred
in collection efforts, against the real property that is subject to
the permit application and by adding that charge to and making it
part of the next annual real property tax assessment roll of the Town.
Prior to charging such assessments, the real property owners shall
be provided with written notice to the applicant, at its last known
address as contained in the permit application and to the property
owner, if other than the applicant, at the owner's address of
record as contained in the current assessment roll. Such written notice
shall be sent certified mail, return receipt requested. Such notice
shall inform the owner and applicant of the delinquent amount of fees
owed to the Town and shall provide an opportunity to be heard and
object, before the Town Board, to the proposed additional real property
assessment, at a date to be designated in the notice which shall be
not less than 30 days after the mailing. If and when imposed, such
charges shall be levied and collected at the same time and in the
same manner as general Town taxes, and such fees shall be applied
to reimbursing the account from which the professional review fees
were paid.
