Dickinson City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
Reimbursement of Professional Consultation Fees 1
§ 600-36 Professional fees.
A.
The Dickinson Town Board, the Town of Dickinson Planning Board or the Town of Dickinson Zoning Board of Appeals, in the review of any application pending before said Board may refer such application presented to it to such engineering, planning, legal, technical or environmental consultant, or professional(s) employed by the Town, as such Board shall deem reasonably necessary to enable it to review such application as required by law.
B.
The applicant shall reimburse the Town for the cost of such consultant services.
C.
Charges made by such consultants shall be in accord with charges usually made for such services in the Broome County, New York region or pursuant to an existing contractual agreement between the Town and such consultant. Charges made by the Town shall be in accord with the hourly rates upon which the employee's actual salary is based and fringe benefits and reasonable overhead. However, the applicant will not be charged for the following services rendered by professionals employed by the Town:
(1)
Review by the Town Engineer of the preliminary design plans submitted by the applicant and, if required, the second set of design plans and preparation of necessary reports relative thereto.
(2)
Preparation by the Town Attorney of any required public notices regarding said application.
(3)
Attendance by the Town Engineer and Town Attorney at any regular or special public meetings of the Dickinson Town Board, the Town of Dickinson Planning Board or the Town of Dickinson Zoning Board of Appeals.
D.
The Town Clerk shall refund to the applicant the amount deposited pursuant to § 600-37 less the following percentages of any sums expended by the Town to engage services of attorneys, engineers, and other qualified professionals to provide assistance to Town Boards relating to said project (hereinafter "professional review fees") and excluding those referred to in Subsection C(1), (2) and (3) of this section:
(1)
When the application is approved by the Board(s) having jurisdiction and a building permit is issued by the Town within one year from the date of final approval for said project: 50% of said professional review fees.
(2)
When the application is denied by the Board(s) having jurisdiction: 100% of said professional review fees.
(3)
When the application is approved by the Board(s) having jurisdiction and the applicant fails to obtain a building permit for said project within one year from the date of such final approval: 100% of said professional review fees.
E.
A copy of the computation of said sums so expended shall be provided to the applicant at the time that the Town Clerk shall calculate the refund, if any, due applicant hereunder.
F.
In the event that an application is required to be reviewed by more than one Board, then, in such event and to the extent practicable, both Boards shall use the same consultant, who shall, in such case, to the extent practicable, prepare one report providing data, information and recommendations requested. In all instances, duplications of consultants' reports or services shall sought to be avoided wherever practicable in order to minimize the cost of such consultants' reports or services to the applicant. The above fees are in addition to any and all other fees required by any other law, rule or regulation.
§ 600-37 Escrow accounts.
A.
At the time of submission of any application, or thereafter, an escrow account shall be established, from which withdrawals shall be made to reimburse the Town for the costs of professional review services. The applicant shall then provide funds to the Town for deposit into such account in an amount to be determined by the reviewing Board with the advice and recommendation of the Town Engineer and Building Inspector based on it evaluation of the nature and complexity of the application, using the following schedule as a general guideline with the decision of the reviewing Board to be final and conclusive on the applicant:
(1)
For one- and two-family residential projects no fee shall be charged and therefore no escrow deposit shall be required.
(2)
For three- or more family residential projects with project value in excess of $150,000, the total project value shall be calculated on the actual purchase price of the land or the fair market value of the land (determined by assessed value divided by equalization rate), whichever is higher, plus the cost of all required site improvements, not including the cost of buildings and structures as determined with reference to a current cost data publication in common use. In the case of such projects, the escrow deposit shall be 1% of the total project value.
(3)
For commercial and industrial construction projects with project value in excess of $150,000, the total project cost shall be calculated on the actual purchase price of the land or the fair market value of the land (determined by assessed value divided by equalization rate), whichever is higher, plus the cost of supplying utility service to the project, the cost of site preparation and the cost of labor and material as determined with reference to a current cost data publication in common use. In the case of such projects the escrow deposit shall be 1/4 of 1% of the total project value.
B.
The applicant shall be provided with copies of any voucher for such services as they are submitted to the Town.
C.
The professionals employed by the Town shall report monthly to the Town Clerk as to the monetary value of their services rendered on each project.
D.
When the balance in such escrow account is reduced to 1/3 of its initial amount, the Town Clerk shall advise the applicant and the applicant shall deposit additional funds into such account to bring its balance up to the amount of the initial deposit. If such account is not replenished within 30 days after the applicant is notified, in writing, of the requirement for such additional deposit, the reviewing Board may suspend its review of the application. An application shall be deemed incomplete if any amount shall be outstanding.
E.
A building permit or other permit being sought shall not be issued unless all professional review fees charged in connection with the applicant's project have been reimbursed to the Town from said escrow account.
F.
All fees required pursuant to this article shall be collected by the Town Clerk.
G.
This article shall be applicable to applications pending at the time it shall become effective, unless the reviewing Board shall determine that its application would be impracticable, unfair or unjust in the particular circumstances. Where this article shall be applicable to a pending application, it shall, in such event, require an applicant only to pay for professional fees for the services rendered after it shall have become effective.