A.

Application Fees; Review Escrow Deposits; Fees For Property Owner Lists And Copies Of Minutes And Resolutions. Fees, escrow deposits for professional fees related to a development application, fees for property owner lists and copies of minutes and resolutions shall be in accordance with the Fee Schedule below. Fees shall be paid by check payable to the Town of Harrison. Where one (1) application for development includes several approval requests, the sum of the individual required fees shall be paid. Application fees and escrow deposit fees shall be paid in two different checks, one for the total application charges and one for the total escrow deposit.

1.

Fee Schedule.

Fee Schedule

*Applicants will not be charged for copies of their resolutions or decisions.

2.

Nature Of Application Fees. The application fee is a flat fee to recover administrative expenses including the initial intake and distribution of the application, and is nonrefundable.

3.

Nature Of Review Escrow Deposit. The review escrow deposit is established to provide payment for technical and professional charges relating to the review of applications and review and preparation of documents. Review of applications shall include, but shall not be limited to, review of application forms, plans, existing physical conditions and ordinance and other legal requirements, as well as attendance by professional staff at all meetings held to review, hear or consider the application. Fees relating to an application may exceed, or be less than, the initial escrow deposit. The applicant is responsible for paying any excess and is entitled to a refund of any portion of the escrow deposit which is not applied to payment of professional fees.

B.

Inspection Fees. No construction or disturbance of land shall be undertaken until all inspection fees have been paid to the Town. The applicant shall deposit a sum not to exceed, except for extraordinary circumstances, the greater of five hundred ($500.00) dollars or five (5) percent of the cost of improvements, which cost shall be determined pursuant to the procedures established by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.4. For those developments for which the reasonably anticipated inspection fees are less than ten thousand ($10,000.00) dollars, fees may, at the option of the applicant, be paid in two (2) installments. The initial payment deposited by the applicant shall be fifty (50) percent of the reasonably anticipated fees. When the balance on deposit drops to ten (10) percent of the reasonably anticipated fees because the amount deposited by the applicant has been reduced by the amount paid to the Town Engineer or his designee for inspection, the applicant shall deposit the remaining fifty (50) percent of the anticipated inspection fees. For those developments for which the reasonably anticipated fees are ten thousand ($10,000.00) dollars or greater, fees may, at the option of the applicant, be paid in four (4) installments. The initial amount deposited by the applicant shall be twenty-five (25) percent of the reasonably anticipated fees. When the balance on deposit drops to ten (10) percent of the reasonably anticipated fees because the amount deposited by the applicant has been reduced by the amount paid to the Town Engineer or his designee for inspection, the applicant shall make additional deposits of twenty-five (25) percent of the reasonably anticipated fees. The Town Engineer shall not perform any inspections if sufficient funds to pay for those inspections are not on deposit. Any excess fees not required for inspections shall be returned after the improvements have been installed and accepted by the Town.

C.

Administration of Escrow Deposits for Professional Review Fees and Inspection Fees.

1.

Separate Accounts Required. All deposits for technical and/or professional charges and/or inspection fees shall be kept in an escrow account for that purpose by the Town. This account shall be managed by the Chief Financial Officer of the Town who shall administer same in accordance with the terms of this section.

2.

Payment By CFO; Limitations on Charges. The Chief Financial Officer of the Town shall make all of the payments for professional services rendered to the Town or the Board for review of applications for development, review and preparation of documents, inspection of improvements and other purposes under Chapter 17 of this Ordinance. The application review and inspection charges shall be limited only to professional charges for review of applications as defined in subsection A(3) above, review and preparation of documents and inspections of developments under construction and review by outside consultants when the application is of a nature beyond the scope of the expertise of the professionals normally utilized by the Town. The only costs that shall be added to any such charges shall be actual out-of-pocket expenses of any such professionals or consultants including normal and typical expenses incurred in processing applications and inspecting improvements. If an in-house municipal professional is utilized for professional services/review, and if the salary, staff support and overhead for a municipal professional are provided by the municipality, the charge shall not exceed two hundred (200) percent of the sum of the products resulting from multiplying (1) the hourly base salary, which shall be established annually by ordinance, of each of the professionals by (2) the number of hours spent by the respective professional upon review of the application for development or inspection of the developer's improvements, as the case may be. The charges by professionals shall be at the same rate as all other work of the same nature by the professional for the Town when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants or developers.

3.

Vouchers; Periodic Accounting. Each payment charged to a deposit for review of applications, review and preparation of documents or inspection of improvements shall be pursuant to a voucher from a professional which voucher shall identify the personnel performing the service, and for each date the service is performed, the hours spent to one quarter (¼) hour increments, the hourly rate and the expenses incurred. All professionals shall submit vouchers to the Chief Financial Officer on a monthly basis in accordance with the schedules and procedures established by the Chief Financial Officer. If the municipality requires of the developer a deposit toward anticipated municipal expenses for these professional services, the deposit shall be placed in an escrow account pursuant to Section 1 of P.L. 1985, c. 315 (C. 40:55D-53.1). The professional shall send an informational copy of all vouchers or statements submitted to the Chief Financial Officer of the Town simultaneously to the applicant. The Chief Financial Officer shall prepare and send to the applicant a statement which shall include an accounting of the funds listing all deposits, interest earnings, disbursements and the cumulative balance of the escrow account. This information shall be provided on a quarterly basis, if monthly charges are one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars or less, or on a monthly basis if the monthly charges exceed one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars.

4.

Insufficient Deposits. If an escrow account or deposit contains insufficient funds to enable the Town or Board to perform required application reviews or improvement inspections, the Chief Financial Officer shall provide the applicant with a written notice of the insufficient escrow or deposit balance. In order for work to continue on the development or the application, the applicant shall within ten (10) days post a deposit to the account in an amount to be agreed upon by the Town or the Board, as the case may be, and the applicant. In the interim, any required health and safety inspections shall be made and charged back against the replenishment of funds. If the applicant fails to make the additional deposit within the time prescribed herein, the Board shall be authorized to dismiss a pending application without prejudice, subject to the right of the applicant to reinstate the application within sixty (60) days of dismissal by payment of the required deposits. The application shall be reinstated only upon written notification by the Chief Financial Officer to the Board that the deposit has been paid within the sixty (60) day period. With regard to inspection fees, the Town Engineer shall not perform any inspection if sufficient funds to pay for inspections are not on deposit. Failure to post and/or maintain deposits in accordance with the requirements of this subsection will subject the developer to a "Stop Work" order and/or suspension of construction permits.

5.

Close-out Procedures. The applicant and Chief Financial Officer shall follow the following close-out procedures for all escrow deposits established herein. Close-out procedures with respect to escrow deposits for professional fees, shall commence after the Board has granted final approval of the development application including satisfaction of all conditions of the approval and/or has signed the approved site plan or subdivision plat or deed, and with respect to deposits for inspection fees, after all of the improvements have been approved by the Town Council pursuant to Section 17-105.1.H.1. The applicant shall send written notice by certified mail to the Chief Financial Officer and the Board and to the relevant Town professionals that the application or the improvements, as the case may be, are completed. After receipt of such notice, the professional shall render a final bill to the Chief Financial Officer within thirty (30) days and shall send a copy simultaneously to the applicant. The Chief Financial Officer of the Town shall render a written final accounting to the applicant on the uses to which the deposit has been put within forty-five (45) days of the receipt of the final bill. Any balances remaining in the deposit or escrow account, including interest, shall be refunded to the applicant along with the final accounting.

6.

Reasonableness of Charges. All professional charges for review of an application for development, review and preparation of documents or inspection of improvements shall be reasonable and necessary, given the status and progress of the application or construction. Review fees shall be charged only in connection with the application for development presently pending before the Board or upon review of compliance with conditions of approval, or review of requests for modification or amendment made by the applicant. A professional shall not review items which are subject to approval by a State governmental agency and not under Town jurisdiction except to the extent consultation with the State agency is necessary due to the effect of State approvals on the subdivision or site plan. Inspection fees shall be charged only for actual work shown on a subdivision or site plan or required by an approving resolution. Professionals inspecting improvements under construction shall charge only for inspections that are reasonably necessary to check the progress and quality of the work and such inspections shall be reasonably based on the approved development plans and requirements.

7.

Replacement Professionals. If the Town retains a different professional or consultant in the place of the professional originally responsible for development, application review, or inspection or improvements, the Town or Board shall be responsible for all time and expenses of the new professional to become familiar with the application or the project and the Town or Board shall not bill the applicant or charge the deposit or the escrow account for any such services.

D.

Interest on Deposits. Whenever an amount of money in excess of five thousand ($5,000.00) dollars shall be deposited by an applicant with the Town for professional services employed by the Town or the Board to review applications for development, for inspection fees in accordance with this section or to satisfy requirements for performance or maintenance guarantees pursuant to Article VII, the money until repaid or applied to the purpose for which it was deposited, including the applicant's portion of the interest earned thereon, except as otherwise provided in this section shall continue to be the property of the applicant and shall be held in trust by the Town. Money deposited shall be held in escrow. The Town shall deposit the money in a banking institution or savings and loan association in this State insured by an agency of the Federal government, or in any other fund or depository approved for such deposits by the State, in an account bearing interest at the minimum rate currently paid by the institution or depository on time or savings deposits. The Town shall notify the applicant in writing of the name and address of the institution or depository in which the deposit is made and the amount of the deposit. The Town shall not be required to refund an amount of interest paid on a deposit which does not exceed one hundred ($100.00) dollars for the year. If the amount of interest exceeds one hundred ($100.00) dollars, that entire amount shall belong to the applicant and shall be refunded to the applicant by the Town annually or at the time the deposit is repaid or applied to the purposes for which it was deposited, as the case may be; except that the Town may retain for administrative expenses a sum equivalent to one-third (_) of the entire amount which shall be in lieu of all other administrative and custodial expenses.

E.

Transcript Fees and Deposits.

1.

Requirement for Payment; Exemptions. Each applicant shall be required to reimburse the Town of Harrison for its actual costs for the preparation of a transcript of all hearings on his application, except for hearings on (i) applications for minor subdivision approval involving one-, two-, or three-family residential uses where no new lot will be created, and (ii) any application involving only a single one-, two-, or three-family residence. (These applications are referred to in this Section as "exempt residential applications").

2.

Time for Payments; Custody of Deposit; Procedure for Payments Against Deposit. At the time of filing any application (except an exempt residential application) with the Board, each applicant shall deposit with the Board the sum of $1,000 to defray the estimated cost of hearing transcripts for the application.

This transcript deposit shall be placed in an escrow account for transcript deposits maintained by the Chief Financial Officer. Payments charged to the transcript deposit shall be pursuant to vouchers from certified shorthand reporters identifying the dates when services were performed, the fee for attendance at each hearing, fee per page of transcript and total charges for attendance and complete transcript.

3.

Replenishing of Transcript Fee Deposit. Whenever a transcript fee deposit is, or is about to become, depleted as a result of outstanding transcript fees, the applicant shall, on request, pay to the Chief Financial Officer an amount sufficient to (i) satisfy all outstanding transcript fees, and (ii) (when necessary in the judgment of the Chief Financial Officer) return the deposit to its original amount. If an applicant fails to pay the amount requested within ten (10) days after demand, the Town, the reviewing board and all professionals shall have the right to cease all further work on the application immediately, and the reviewing board shall have the right to deny, without prejudice, any pending application because of the applicant's failure to pay the requested amount. The applicant shall have the right to reinstate the application within sixty (60) days of dismissal by payment of the required deposit. The application shall be reinstated only upon written certification by the CFO to the Board that the deposit has been paid within the sixty (60) day period. In no event shall any approved plans or resolutions be signed or delivered to the applicant, nor shall any construction permits, certificates of occupancy, or other approvals or authorizations be issued to an applicant, when there exists any deficiency with respect to the applicant's transcript fee deposit.

4.

Final Accounting. The Chief Financial Officer shall render a final accounting to the applicant with respect to the applicant's transcript deposit simultaneously with the rendering of the final accounting with respect to the applicant's technical review fee deposit. The Chief Financial Officer shall return to the applicant with the final accounting of transcript deposits any unused balance of such deposit.

5.

Waiver of Transcript Fee. Where any application is of a minor nature and does not involve significant site development considerations, the reviewing board may waive the requirement for reimbursement of the costs of the transcript.

F.

Special Meeting Fees. A fee of $1,000 shall be charged to the applicant for any special meeting of the Planning Board of Board of Adjustment held at the request of the applicant. Where any application is of a minor nature, and does not involve significant site development considerations, the reviewing board may waive the requirement for a special meeting fee. Nothing herein shall obligate any board to hold a special meeting on any application.

G.

Appeals. An applicant shall notify in writing the Town Council with copies to the Chief Financial Officer, the approving Board and the professional whenever the applicant disputes the charges made by a professional for service rendered to the Town in reviewing applications for development, review and preparation of documents, inspection of improvement, or other fees or charges made pursuant to the provisions of P.L. 1975, c. 291 (C. 40:55D-1 et seq.). The Town Council, or its designee, shall within a reasonable time period attempt to remediate any disputed charges. If the matter is not resolved to the satisfaction of the applicant, the applicant may appeal to the County Construction Board of Appeals, any charge to an escrow account or a deposit by any municipal professional or consultant, or the cost of the installation of improvements estimated by the Town Engineer pursuant to section 15 of P.L. 1991, c. 256 (C. 40:55D-53.4). An applicant or his authorized agent shall submit the appeal in writing to the County Construction Board of Appeals. The applicant or his authorized agent shall simultaneously send a copy of the appeal to the Town, approving Board and any professional whose charge is the subject of the appeal. An applicant shall file an appeal within forty-five (45) days from receipt of the informational copy of the professional's voucher required by subsection c. of section 13 of P.L. 1991, c. 256 (C. 40:55D-53.2), except that if the professional has not supplied the applicant with an informational copy of the voucher, then the applicant shall file his appeal within sixty (60) days from receipt of the municipal statement of activity against the deposit or escrow account required by subsection c. of section 13 of P.L. 1991, c. 256 (C. 40:55D-53.2). An applicant may file an appeal for an ongoing series of charges by a professional during a period not exceeding six (6) months to demonstrate that they represent a pattern of excessive or inaccurate charges. An applicant making use of this provision need not appeal each charge individually.

(Ord. 996 § 1 (part), 1998)

(Ord. No. 1480, 3-7-23)