Mechanic Falls City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VII
Assessment of Impact Fees
§ 200-7.1 Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to assure that major new development activity occurring within the Town bears a fair share of the costs of capital expenditures for needed public facilities and improvements thereto, created by the development in Mechanic Falls.
§ 200-7.2 Authority.
Development impact fees are authorized pursuant to the enabling provisions of Article VIII, Part Second, of the Maine Constitution, and 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4354.
§ 200-7.3 Establishment of impact fees.
Impact fees are established in accordance with the following:
Assessment of impact fees for development requiring development plan review.
For uses requiring development plan review from the Planning Board, an impact fee may be assessed if the Planning Board finds that the proposed project will result in a need for new, improved or expanded public facilities in order to accommodate the proposed project and will have an adverse fiscal impact on the Town to provide those facilities.
The Planning Board shall, in reviewing any project that requires a site plan review, determine the extent to which, if any, new, improved or expanded public facilities are needed to accommodate the growth as a result of the proposed project. The Planning Board shall consider impacts on all of the public facilities listed in § 200-7.5 of this article.
The Planning Board may retain the appropriate professional(s) or consultant(s) to assist it in determining the impact on public facilities and the portion of any impacts that may be attributed to the proposed project as an impact fee. The professional(s)/consultant(s) shall estimate the cost of such review, and the applicant shall deposit, with the Town, the full estimated cost, which the Town shall place in an escrow account. The Town shall pay the professional(s)/consultant(s) from the escrow account and reimburse the applicant if funds remain after payment. Determinations made by the Planning Board pursuant to this subsection may be appealed to the Town Council by the fee payer, by filing a written request with the Town Council within 10 days of the Planning Board's determination.
§ 200-7.4 Payment of fee.
The fee payer shall pay the impact fee required by this chapter to the Town of Mechanic Falls prior to the issuance of a conditional use permit or special exception permit.
All funds collected shall be properly identified as to which public improvements they apply and promptly transferred for deposit in the appropriate impact fee trust fund to be held in separate accounts and used solely for the purposes specified in this chapter.
§ 200-7.5 Use of funds.
Funds collected from impact fees shall be used for the purpose of capital improvements to and expansion of public facilities in Mechanic Falls. These public improvements include, but are not limited to, the following:
Road systems and traffic devices;
Parks, recreational facilities, and open space;
Solid waste disposal, recycling and transfer facilities;
Schools;
Public libraries;
Public safety facilities and equipment including fire, police, and rescue services;
Storm- and flood-control facilities;
Water and sewage distribution or collection facilities and treatment facilities; and
Other facilities, the costs of which can be substantially attributed to new development.
All use of funds must pass a rational nexus test to ensure that the use of funds is directly connected to the impacts generated by the development activity.
No funds shall be used for periodic or routine maintenance.
In the event that bonds or similar debt instruments are issued for advanced provision of capital facilities for which impact fees may be expended, impact fees may be used to pay debt service on such bonds or similar debt instruments.
At least once each fiscal year, the Town Council shall develop a capital improvement program assigning funds, including any accrued interest, from the impact fee trust funds to specific public improvement projects and related expenses. Monies, including any accrued interest, not assigned in any fiscal year shall be retained in the same impact fee trust funds until the next fiscal year, except as provided by the refund provisions of this chapter.
§ 200-7.6 Refund of fees paid.
If a conditional use permit or special exception permit expires without commencement of construction, then the fee payer shall be entitled to a refund, without interest, of the impact fee paid as a condition for its issuance. The fee payer must submit a written request for such a refund to the Town Council within 30 days of the expiration of the permit.
Any funds not expended or encumbered by the end of the sixth year from the date the impact fee was paid shall, upon written request of the then current landowner, be returned to such landowner with interest at the rate of simple passbook saving rates, provided that the landowner submits a written request for a refund to the Town Council within 180 days of the expiration of the six-year period.