West Haverstraw City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXI
Professional Services
§ 250-118 Referral of applications to consultants.
In performing reviews of applications or petitions for site plan, subdivision, special permits, variances and amendments to the Village Zoning Law, and related laws and sections of the Village Code, any applicable Board, including but not necessarily limited to the Village Board of Trustees, the Village Planning Board and the Village Zoning Board, may refer such applications or petitions to such engineering, technical, planning, environmental or other professional consultants as it may deem reasonably necessary to review such applications. If such referral is by the Planning Board or the Zoning Board is to a person or organization with whom the Village does not have a current agreement for the provision of services, then such referral shall be subject to the approval of the Village Board of Trustees.
§ 250-119 Reimbursement and payment of consultant fees.
In addition to the application fees required to be paid by an applicant, the applicant shall also reimburse the Village for any and all fees required to be paid by the Village to a consultant in connection with the review of such application on behalf of the Board of Trustees, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals or other such Board or Village department.
§ 250-120 Escrow of consultant fees.
Following the submission of any application/petition for review and approval within the scope of this article, but before such application/petition shall be placed on the agenda of such Board, the applicant shall deliver to the Village a monetary amount as set forth in Article A255, Fees, hereof, to be held in escrow, for release to the Village upon the Village's payment of consulting fees incurred in connection with its review of the application/petition. Unless expressly waived by the applicable Board, any amount released from escrow in reimbursement to the Village of consulting fees actually incurred and paid by the Village shall be replaced by the applicant before the application/petition shall be placed on any subsequent agenda, it being the express intent of this provision that the applicant always have on deposit with the Village an amount sufficient to cover the cost of the Village's ongoing review of the application/petition.
§ 250-121 Scope of professional services; rates.
The professional consulting services covered by this article shall be those services customarily rendered in the County of Rockland, State of New York, in connection with the review of applications for relief as set forth in § 250-118 hereof, by municipal boards and agencies. Fees for such services shall be charged on a time and expense, or flat fee basis, as the case may be, at the actual rates charged by such consulting professionals and paid by the Village, which rates shall not exceed those that are customary in the greater metropolitan New York area for such services. The fees intended to be covered include, but are not necessarily limited to, engineering, planning, landscape, legal and other similar type professional services, where such services are rendered by other than Village employees.
§ 250-122 Applicant entitled to statement of services.
Prior to, and as a condition of an applicant's obligation to reimburse the Village for consulting services rendered, the applicant shall be entitled to receive a copy of the consultant(s) statement of services rendered, which statement shall set forth the nature of all services for which reimbursement is required, the date such services were rendered, the time expended by the consultant (if such services are rendered on a timed basis) and the name of the party rendering such services. A voucher or other bill rendered to the Village and paid by the Village shall be deemed a fee statement in full compliance with this section. The date of such statement for the purpose of any dispute thereof shall be the third business day following the mailing or other delivery of such statement to the applicant.
§ 250-123 Disputes regarding fee statements.
Any applicant who disputes any fee statement presented to him pursuant to this article may bring a proceeding in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, in and for the County of Rockland, pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules of the State of New York, within 30 days after presentation of such disputed fee statement. The commencement of such a proceeding shall not stay the obligation of the applicant to pay any fee statement presented to him pursuant to this article.
§ 250-124 Unpaid fees to become lien upon premises.
Any fee statement which remains unpaid under this article, as this article may be amended from time to time, at the time the Village certifies its annual tax roll shall become a lien upon the premises for which the application was made. Such unreimbursed fees shall thereupon be levied against the said premises, as if a tax on real property, and in addition to all other taxes, fees, rents or charges which would otherwise be so levied. In the event the affected premises comprise more than one tax lot, then the Village Clerk-Treasurer shall distribute such levy equally among each such tax lot without regard to assessed value or any other factor.
§ 250-125 Payment required before granting of final approval.
Final approval of any application shall not be granted, nor shall any building permit, certificate of occupancy or other permit or final approval be granted, nor shall any map or plat be signed or released for filing, if an applicant is delinquent in making any payment required by this article.
§ 250-126 Fees for public improvements; additional fees.
A.
Whenever public improvements are installed by a developer or property owner, the Village may require the developer or property owner to pay to the Village an inspection fee in accordance with the Chapter A255 for the cost of engineering or construction inspections and/or laboratory analysis. For the purpose of this article, the term "public improvements" includes but is not limited to roads, sidewalks, plazas, utilities, drainage systems, water mains, sewage mains or treatment facilities, and landscaping, whether or not such improvements are to be publicly owned. In the case of subdivisions and site development plans, such fees shall be paid at the time required by the regulations governing subdivisions and site development plans, respectively. In all other cases, such fees shall be paid prior to the issuance of a building permit or, if incurred after the issuance of a building permit, then prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Any portion of the fee not so utilized, except for any portion of said fee designated as the Village's administrative costs or expenses, shall be returned to the applicant.
B.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, upon a finding by the Village Consulting Engineer that the anticipated inspection costs were exceeded due to the negligence, inefficiency or wrongful acts of the developer or property owner or to unanticipated conditions of a significant nature, additional inspection costs, in accordance with the Schedule of Fees found at Chapter A255, shall be payable by the developer or property owner to the Village. In addition, the developer shall pay any premium costs for engineering and inspection service requested by the developer or any contractor outside the regular Village working hours. In the event that the Village Consulting Engineer believes that such additional fees are warranted, he shall give written notice of same to the Village and developer or property owner within 30 days of discovery of such reason for such additional fees, together with a full explanation thereof. Should the developer or property owner disagree with the reasons given by the Village Consulting Engineer for charging such additional fees, the Mayor, Village Clerk/Treasurer and Village Attorney will attempt to resolve same. The issue may be presented to the Village Board for a final determination should a disagreement persist. Additional inspection fees pursuant to this subsection are separately paid and shall not act as a drawdown of any amount on deposit with the Village or its agencies for any other purpose.