Source: https://ecode360.com/29763096
Timestamp: 2019-09-19 21:17:54
Document Index: 166809718

Matched Legal Cases: ['Art 20', '§ 11', '§ 11', '§ 11', '§ 11', '§ 11', '§ 11', '§ 11', '§ 11', '§ 11', '§ 11', '§ 11', '§ 11', '§ 11']

Township of Knowlton, NJ Fees
Ch 11 Pt IV Art 20 Fees
§ 11-144 Fee schedule.
§ 11-145 Application fee.
§ 11-146 Refundable review fees.
§ 11-147 Inspection fee.
§ 11-148 Administration of fee deposits.
§ 11-149 Fee for special meetings.
§ 11-150 Hiring of consultant or specialists.
§ 11-151 Engineering services for granting permits in FPZ.
§ 11-152 Zoning permit fees.
§ 11-152.1 Development fees for affordable housing.
Township of Knowlton, NJ / Part I: Administrative Legislation / Land Development / Fees, Guaranties and Improvements
Article 20 Fees
[Amended 9-12-1994 by Ord. No. 94-12; 8-14-1995 by Ord. No. 95-14; 5-8-2000 by Ord. No. 00-4]
Fees for applications or for the rendering of any service by the boards or any member of their administrative staffs shall be in accordance with the Fee Schedule in this article. Fees shall be paid by check payable to the Township of Knowlton. Where one application for development includes several approval requests, the sum of the individual required fees shall be paid.
Refundable Review Fees
$100 per acre or part thereof (a maximum $20,000 fee shall be initially deposited)
$400 per lot
$200 per lot
Minor subdivision with c variances
$600 per lot
$300 per lot
Design review in FPZ
$500 per lot
First 20 lots
Each additional lot
$125 per lot
$100 per lot
Each additional 20 lots
$75 per lot
$200 per acre, plus $100 per unit1 in the case of residential developments and/or $0.05 per gross square foot of building area in the case of nonresidential developments
$100 per acre, plus $50 per unit2 in the case of residential development and/or $0.02 per gross square foot building area in the case of nonresidential developments
Preliminary: cost of improvements1
$350 per acre, plus $100 per unit2 in the case of residential units and/or $0.02 per gross square foot of building area in the case of nonresidential development
$600 per acre, plus $100 per unit2 in the case of residential units and/or $0.05 per gross square foot of building area in the case of nonresidential
Final: cost of improvements1
$250 per acre or part thereof, plus $15 per unit1 in the case of residential units and/or $0.01 per gross square footage of building area in the case of nonresidential developments.
$250 per acre or part thereof, plus $25 per unit1 in the case of residential units and/or $0.025 per gross square foot of building area in the case of nonresidential developments
$50 per acre or part thereof, plus $15 per unit1 in the case of residential units and/or $0.01 per gross square foot of building area in the case of nonresidential development
Informal general review (per meeting)
Informal design standard review (per meeting)
Informal professional review
[Amended 12-22-2005 by Ord. No. 05-22]
Bulk (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c)
Use (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d)
Appeals (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70a)
Interpretation (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70b)
Permit (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34 and 40:55D-36)
Application for rezoning of property
$200 per acre (a maximum $15,000 shall be initially deposited)
Fees applicable to all applications involving drive-through facilities
$1,500 per drive-through facility (a maximum initial deposit shall be $4,000)
ECHO housing conditional use
[Amended 8-14-1995 by Ord. No. 95-15]
Unit, for purposes of this section, shall be a dwelling for a single family.
Cost of improvements will be based on zoning permit application.
Additional Late Filing Fee
Copies of minutes or resolutions
Zoning permit:
Renovation and accessory building up to $5,000
Renovations up to $10,000
Renovations above $10,000
All commercial buildings up to $100,000
All commercial buildings over $100,000
[Amended 5-8-2000 by Ord. No. 00-7]
Driveway bond (refundable)
Subdivision approval certificate
5% of estimated cost of improvements; $500 minimum
[Amended 8-14-1995 by Ord. No. 95-14]
The application fee is a nonrefundable fee used to defray the administrative costs of processing the application based upon the Fee Schedule and Table IV-1 of this article.
[Amended 8-14-1995 by Ord. No. 95-14; 4-23-1998 by Ord. No. 98-3]
Refundable review fees are established to provide payment for technical and professional costs of the review of applications, review and preparation of documents and are based on the fee schedule of this article. Reviewing applications shall include, but is not limited to, all time spent at meetings by the professional staff.
No construction or disturbance of land shall be authorized until all inspection fees have been paid to the municipality. Verification of said payment shall be certified to by the chief financial officer of the township. The applicant shall pay a sum not to exceed, except for extraordinary circumstances, the greater of $500 or 5% of the cost of improvements, which cost shall be determined pursuant to law. For those developments for which the reasonably anticipated fees are less than $10,000, fees may, at the option of the applicant, be paid in two installments, and the initial payment deposited by the applicant shall be 50% of the reasonably anticipated fees. When the balance of deposit drops to 10% of the reasonably anticipated fees because the amount deposited by the applicant has been reduced by the amount paid to the Municipal Engineer for inspection, the applicant shall deposit the remaining 50% of the anticipated inspection fees. For those developments for which the reasonably anticipated fees are $10,000 or greater, fees may, at the option of the applicant, be paid in four installments. The initial amount deposited by the applicant shall be 25% of the reasonably anticipated fees. When the balance of deposit drops to 10% of the reasonably anticipated fees because the amount deposited by the applicant has been reduced by the amount paid to the Municipal Engineer for inspection, the applicant shall make additional deposits of 25% of the reasonably anticipated fees. The Municipal Engineer shall not perform any inspections if sufficient funds to pay for those inspections are not on deposit.
All deposits for technical and professional review and inspection fees shall be kept in an escrow account for that purpose by the township. This account shall be managed by the chief financial officer of the township who shall administer the same in accordance with the terms of this section.
Whenever an amount of money in excess of $5,000 is deposited by an applicant with the municipality for professional services employed by the municipality or the Approving Board to review applications for development, for municipal inspection fees in accordance with § 11-147, the money, until repaid or applied to the purposes for which it was deposited, including the applicant's portion of the interest earned thereon, except as otherwise provided by law, shall continue to be the property of the applicant and shall be held in trust by the municipality. Money deposited shall be held in escrow. The municipality receiving the money shall deposit it 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 municipality 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 municipality shall not be required to refund an amount of interest paid on a deposit which does not exceed $100 for the year. If the amount of interest exceeds $100, that entire amount shall belong to the applicant and shall be refunded to the applicant by the municipality 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 municipality may retain for administrative expenses a sum equivalent to no more than 1/3 of the entire amount which shall be in lieu of all other administrative and custodial expenses.
The chief financial officer of the municipality shall make all of the payments to professionals for services rendered to the municipality or Approving Board for review of applications for development, review and preparation of documents, inspection of improvements or other purposes under this article. Such fees or charges are to be based upon the ordinances herein. The application review and inspection charges shall be limited only to professional charges for review of applications, including review time spent at meetings of the Approving Board, 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 municipality. 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. The charges by professionals shall be at the same rate as all other work of the same nature by the professional for the municipality when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants or developers. The chief financial officer of the municipality shall administer the review and escrow fees as follows:
Each payment charged to a deposit for review of applications, review and preparation of documents and inspection of improvements shall be pursuant to a voucher from the professional, which voucher shall identify the personnel performing the service and, for each date the service is performed, the hours spent to one-quarter-hour increments, the hourly rate and the expenses incurred. All professionals shall submit vouchers to the chief financial officer of the municipality on a monthly basis in accordance with the schedules and procedures established by the chief financial officer of the municipality. The professional shall send an informational copy of all vouchers or statements submitted to the chief financial officer of the municipality simultaneously to the applicant. The chief financial officer of the municipality 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 $1,000 or less, or on a monthly basis, if the monthly charges exceed $1,000. If an escrow account or deposit contains insufficient funds to enable the municipality or Approving Board to perform required application reviews or improvement inspections, the chief financial officer of the municipality 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 10 days, post a deposit to the account in an amount to be agreed upon by the municipality or the Approving Board and the applicant. With regard to review fees, if the applicant fails to make said deposit within the time prescribed herein, the Approving Board shall be authorized to dismiss the application without prejudice subject to the right of the applicant to seek reinstatement by notice to the Approving Board that said deposits have been posted. In the interim, any required health and safety inspections shall be made and charged back against the replenishment of funds.
The applicant and chief financial officer shall follow the following close-out procedures for all deposits and escrow accounts established herein. Said procedures shall commence after the approving authority has granted final approval of the development application, including completion of all conditions of said approval and/or has signed the appropriate subdivision map or deed or after all of the improvements have been approved. The applicant shall send written notice by certified mail to the chief financial officer of the municipality and the Approving Board and to the relevant municipal professional 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 of the municipality within 30 days and shall send a copy simultaneously to the applicant. The chief financial officer of the municipality shall render a written final accounting to the applicant on the uses to which the deposit has been put within 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.
All professional charges for review of the 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 approving authority or upon review of compliance with conditions of approval or review of requests or modifications or amendments made by the applicant. The professionals shall not review items which are subject to approval by any state governmental agency and not under municipal 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 documents.
If the municipality retains a different professional or consultant in the place of the professional originally responsible for development, application review or inspection of improvements, the municipality or Approving Board shall be responsible for all time and expenses of the new professional to become familiar with the application or the project, and the municipality or Approving Board shall not bill the applicant or charge the deposit or the escrow account for any such services.
The Township Engineer shall not perform any inspection unless sufficient funds to pay for those inspections are on deposit. Insufficient funds on deposit shall subject the developer to a stop-work order.
Should the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment, at the request of any applicant or applicant's authorized representative or where the Board finds a necessity concerning any matter within the Board's jurisdiction, schedule a special meeting in respect to such matter, the person, firm or corporation for which said meeting is scheduled shall pay a nonrefundable fee as outlined in Table IV-1 of this Article to defray the costs of scheduling and holding such special meeting. This fee shall be in addition to all other fees and charges heretofore or hereafter established.
In the event that the Approving Board shall determine that the services of professional consultants not already in the employment of the Township of Knowlton are necessary to review and administer an application for development, the applicant shall deposit, with the Secretary of the Planning Board, an escrow fund in an amount estimated by the Planning Board to be sufficient for such purposes.
In the event that the amount deposited shall be later deemed insufficient for such purpose, the applicant shall be required to deposit such additional sums as shall be necessary for such purpose.
If the additional fees are not paid by the applicant, the Planning Board and/or Board of Adjustment shall have the authority to deny the application without prejudice, and no further official action shall be taken until the additional fees are paid, at which time the applicant may request the reinstatement of the application without further application or nonrefundable fees so long as said request for reinstatement is made within six months of the dismissal without prejudice.
The Zoning Officer/Construction Official, when granting permits or monitoring construction, may require assistance to determine whether the applicant is in compliance with the bulk and density requirements in the Farmland Preservation Zone. The officer or official may request assistance from the Township Engineer for which an escrow fee has been provided by the applicant in accordance with the fee schedule.
[Added 9-12-1994 by Ord. No. 94-12]
The Zoning Officer/Construction Official, on issuing zoning permits, is hereby authorized to charge fees as indicated in Table IV-1 (§ 11-144) as indicated hereinbefore. In the event that an applicant fails to obtain a zoning permit when required, an additional late filing fee shall be authorized in accordance with the terms of Table IV-1 (§ 11-144).
[Added 4-10-2000 by Ord. No. 00-3; amended 8-23-2001 by Ord. No. 01-8; 7-13-2009 by Ord. No. 09-03; 11-30-2009 by Ord. No. 09-09]
Pursuant to P.L. 2008, c.46, Section 8 (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-329.2) and the Statewide Nonresidential Development Fee Act (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-8.1 through 8.7), COAH is authorized to adopt and promulgate regulations necessary for the establishment, implementation, review, monitoring and enforcement of municipal affordable housing trust funds and corresponding spending plans. Municipalities that are under the jurisdiction of the Council or court of competent jurisdiction and have a COAH-approved spending plan may retain fees collected from nonresidential development.
This section establishes standards for the collection, maintenance, and expenditure of development fees pursuant to COAH's regulations and in accordance with P.L. 2008, c.46, Sections 8 and 32-38. Fees collected pursuant to this section shall be used for the sole purpose of providing low- and moderate-income housing. This section shall be interpreted within the framework of COAH's rules on development fees, codified at N.J.A.C. 5:97-8.
Knowlton Township shall not spend development fees until COAH has approved a plan for spending such fees in conformance with N.J.A.C. 5:97-8.10 and N.J.A.C. 5:96-5.3.
Within all zoning districts, residential developers, except for developers of the types of development specifically exempted below, shall pay a fee of 1.5% of the equalized assessed value for residential development provided no increased density is permitted.
Developers of residential structures demolished and replaced as a result of a natural disaster shall be exempt from paying a development fee.
Nonresidential developments shall be exempt from the payment of nonresidential development fees in accordance with the exemptions required pursuant to P.L. 2008, c. 46, as specified in the Form N-RDF, "State of New Jersey Nonresidential Development Certification/Exemption." Any exemption claimed by a developer shall be substantiated by that developer.
If a property which was exempted from the collection of a nonresidential development fee thereafter ceases to be exempt from property taxation, the owner of the property shall remit the fees required pursuant to this section within 45 days of the termination of the property tax exemption. Unpaid nonresidential development fees under these circumstances may be enforceable by Knowlton as a lien against the real property of the owner.
For nonresidential developments only, the developer shall also be provided with a copy of Form N-RDF, "State of New Jersey Nonresidential Development Certification/Exemption" to be completed as per the instructions provided. The developer of a nonresidential development shall complete Form N-RDF as per the instructions provided. The construction official shall verify the information submitted by the nonresidential developer as per the instructions provided in the Form N-RDF. The tax assessor shall verify exemptions and prepare estimated and final assessments as per the instructions provided in Form N-RDF.
Should Knowlton Township fail to determine or notify the developer of the amount of the development fee within 10 business days of the request for final inspection, the developer may estimate the amount due and pay that estimated amount consistent with the dispute process set forth in Subsection b. of Section 37 of P.L. 2008, c. 46 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-8.6).
A developer may challenge residential development fees imposed by filing a challenge with the County Board of Taxation. Pending a review and determination by the Board, collected fees shall be placed in an interest-bearing escrow account by Knowlton Township. Appeals from a determination of the Board may be made to the tax court in accordance with the provisions of the State Tax Uniform Procedure Law, R.S.54:48-1 et seq., within 90 days after the date of such determination. Interest earned on amounts escrowed shall be credited to the prevailing party.
A developer may challenge nonresidential development fees imposed by filing a challenge with the Director of the Division of Taxation. Pending a review and determination by the Director, which shall be made within 45 days of receipt of the challenge, collected fees shall be placed in an interest-bearing escrow account by Knowlton Township. Appeals from a determination of the Director may be made to the tax court in accordance with the provisions of the State Tax Uniform Procedure Law, R.S.54:48-1 et seq., within 90 days after the date of such determination. Interest earned on amounts escrowed shall be credited to the prevailing party.
Any other funds collected in connection with Knowlton Township's affordable housing program.
Within seven days from the opening of the trust fund account, Knowlton Township shall provide COAH with written authorization, in the form of a three-party escrow agreement between the municipality, First Hope Bank, and COAH, to permit COAH to direct the disbursement of the funds as provided for in N.J.A.C. 5:97-8.13(b).
The expenditure of all funds shall conform to a spending plan approved by COAH. Funds deposited in the housing trust fund may be used for any activity approved by COAH to address the Knowlton Township's fair share obligation and may be set up as a grant or revolving loan program. Such activities include, but are not limited to: preservation or purchase of housing for the purpose of maintaining or implementing affordability controls, rehabilitation, new construction of affordable housing units and related costs, accessory apartment, market to affordable, or regional housing partnership programs, conversion of existing nonresidential buildings to create new affordable units, green building strategies designed to be cost saving and in accordance with accepted national or state standards, purchase of land for affordable housing, improvement of land to be used for affordable housing, extensions or improvements of roads and infrastructure to affordable housing sites, financial assistance designed to increase affordability, administration necessary for implementation of the Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, or any other activity as permitted pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:97-8.7 through 8.9 and specified in the approved spending plan.
Funds shall not be expended to reimburse Knowlton Township for past housing activities.
Affordability assistance programs may include down payment assistance, security deposit assistance, low-interest loans, rental assistance, assistance with homeowners association or condominium fees and special assessments, and assistance with emergency repairs.
Affordability assistance to households earning 30% or less of median income may include buying down the cost of low or moderate income units in the municipal fair share plan to make them affordable to households earning 30% or less of median income.
Knowlton Township may contract with a private or public entity to administer any part of its Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, including the requirement for affordability assistance, in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:96-18.