§ 184-37. Payment for professional and other expert services.

A. 

At the time of filing of an application for development, appeal, or other matters pursuant to this chapter, the applicant shall pay to the Board Secretary a deposit, in accordance with the schedule below, to be used to reimburse the Borough for said professional services. Deposits shall be placed in the Borough escrow account if required pursuant to this chapter or the Municipal Land Use Law. In the case of proposals requiring a combination of approvals, such as a subdivision, site plan and/or variance(s), the applicant shall deposit an amount equal to the sum of the deposits required for each application.

(1) 

The Chief Financial Officer of the Borough shall make all payments to professionals for services rendered to the Borough or the Board for review of applications for development, review and preparation of documents, inspection of improvements or other purposes under the provisions of the Municipal Land Use Law or this chapter. Such payments shall be made pursuant to "Vouchers for Charges," described below.

(2) 

Notwithstanding the above, if the Board determines that professional services are not required in order to process and review the application, no deposit shall be required. Notwithstanding such determination, the Board may, at any time thereafter, determine that professional services are required and require that the applicant provide a deposit to the Board within 10 days of the date thereof.

B. 

Schedule of deposits. The initial deposit for payment of professional services shall be as set forth on the following schedule, provided that if the Board Secretary determines that a greater initial deposit than indicated on the following schedule is necessary to reimburse the anticipated cost of professional services on a particular application, such as, but not limited to circulation-intensive sites requiring the services of a traffic engineering consultant, the applicant shall be required to deposit said greater amount. All payments from such deposits shall be made in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.2.

(1) 

Appeal for "C" variance:

(a) 

If part of site plan or subdivision: none.

(b) 

If not part of site plan or subdivision, or if bifurcated: $100 for each, $500 maximum.

(2) 

Appeal for "D" variance: $500 for each variance.

(3) 

Request for the issuance of permits for structures in areas reserved on the Official Map or for lots not fronting upon a street:

(a) 

If part of site plan or subdivision: none.

(b) 

If not part of site plan or subdivision, or if bifurcated: $100 for each, $500 maximum.

(4) 

Appeal of the decision of the Zoning Officer: $300.

(5) 

Interpretation of the zoning regulations, Zoning Map or Official Map: $300.

(6) 

Conditional use review. $750.

(7) 

Informal review of concept plan: $150.

(8) 

Minor site plan: $500.

(9) 

Minor subdivision: $250 per lot.

(10) 

Preliminary major site plans:

(a) 

$3,000 for the first 20,000 square feet of site area, plus

(b) 

$250 for each additional 20,000 square feet of site area, plus

(c) 

$500 for the first 10,000 square feet of existing and proposed building gross floor area, plus

(d) 

$100 for each additional 10,000 square feet of existing and proposed building gross floor area, up to a maximum of $500 for additional gross floor area above 10,000 square feet.

(11) 

Preliminary major subdivisions: $250 per lot.

(12) 

Final major site plans:

(a) 

If reviewed at same time as preliminary major site plan: none.

(b) 

If reviewed subsequent to preliminary major site plan:

[1] 

$150 for the first 20,000 square feet of site area, plus

[2] 

$50 for each additional 20,000 square feet of site area, plus

[3] 

$150 for the first 10,000 square feet of existing and proposed building gross floor area, plus

[4] 

$50 for each additional 10,000 square feet of existing and proposed building gross floor area, up to a maximum of $250 for additional gross floor area above 10,000 square feet.

(13) 

Final major subdivisions: $100 per lot.

(14) 

Zoning review: $50.

[Added 9-4-2018 by Ord. No. 18-17R]

C. 

Depletion of deposits. If an escrow account or deposit contains insufficient funds, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4055D-53.1 et seq., to enable the Borough or the Board to perform required application reviews or inspections of improvements, the Chief Financial Officer shall provide the applicant with a notice of the insufficient escrow or deposit balance. In order for work to continue on the development or the application, the applicant shall within a reasonable time period, not to exceed 10 days, post a deposit to the account in an amount to be determined by the Board. In the interim, any required health and safety inspections shall be made and charged back against the replenishment of funds.

D. 

Failure to provide or maintain adequate deposit. No application shall be deemed complete and no action shall be taken by the Board until the initial deposit required by Subsection B above has been submitted. If the funds required by Subsection B above for professional services are not deposited in a timely manner, the Board Secretary shall notify the Board. No further action shall be taken on the application unless the deposits have been made by the applicant as required above. In the event that a delay in the payment or maintenance of the required deposits results in a substantial reduction in the available time for action by the Board, or any extension thereof as provided by this chapter, the Board may, at its discretion, dismiss the application.

E. 

Eligible charges against deposit. 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. The following provisions shall apply:

(1) 

Professional charges may include the services of a duly licensed engineer, surveyor, planner, architect, landscape architect, court reporter, traffic expert (can be unlicensed), attorney, realtor, appraiser or other expert providing professional services to ensure that an application complies with the standards set forth in this chapter and other experts whose testimony is in an area of expertise introduced by any of the applicant's experts or in areas where the Board requires further information; provided that such charges shall not include time expended by the Zoning Officer.

(2) 

Application review and inspection charges shall be limited only to professional charges for review of applications, review and preparation of documents and inspections of developments under construction and review by outside consultants when an application is of a nature beyond the scope of the expertise of the professionals normally utilized by the Borough. The charges shall be for the following services:

(a) 

Reviews by professional personnel of applications and accompanying documents;

(b) 

Issuance of reports by professional personnel to the Board setting forth recommendations;

(c) 

Charges for any telephone conferences or meetings requested or initiated by the applicant, his or her attorney or any of his or her experts or by the Board or any of its professionals;

(d) 

Review of documents submitted by the applicant not required by this chapter and issuance of reports relating thereto;

(e) 

Review or preparation of easement documents, developers agreements, deeds or the like;

(f) 

Preparation for attendance at special meetings; and

(g) 

The preparation of resolutions including without limitation resolutions pertaining to an application concerning which the resolution must contain a summary of two or more witnesses, including experts, testifying on behalf of the applicant in order for the resolution to contain adequate findings of fact and conclusions based thereon pursuant to this chapter or the Municipal Land Use Law.

(3) 

Professional charges may also include the costs of expert advice and/or testimony obtained by the Board for the purpose of corroborating testimony of the applicant's experts, or providing a separate review which the Board deems necessary to make an informed decision, provided that:

(a) 

This provision shall not entitle the Borough to reimbursement for the cost of expert advice and/or testimony at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board, when such advice and/or testimony is provided in the expert's capacity as a full-time or part-time Borough employee; and

(b) 

The Board shall give prior notice to the applicant of its intention to obtain such additional expert advice or testimony and afford the applicant an opportunity to be heard as to the necessity for such additional advice or testimony and as to the definition of the limitations on the nature and extent thereof.

F. 

Exceptions and Limitations. The following limitations shall apply to the charges for professional services:

(1) 

Except as otherwise set forth in § 184-37E above, attendance by the Borough's professional personnel at any regularly scheduled meeting of the Board; provided, however, that the Borough shall be entitled to be reimbursed for attendance of its professional employees, including court reporters, secretaries, attorneys, etc., at special meetings of the Board which are called at the applicant's request. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as requiring the Board to grant an applicant's request to hold a special meeting;

(2) 

The time spent by the Zoning Officer with respect to the review and processing of an application;

(3) 

Except as otherwise set forth in § 184-37E above, the preparation of a resolution of memorialization setting forth the findings of fact and conclusions of the Board with respect to an application.

(4) 

Limitations. The following limitations shall apply to the charges for professional services:

(a) 

Review fees shall be charged only in connection with an application for development presently pending before the Board, or 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 any state governmental agency and not under Borough jurisdiction, except to the extent consultation with a state agency is necessary due to the effect of state approvals upon the subdivision or site plan.

(b) 

Inspection fees shall be charged only for actual work shown on a subdivision or site plan required by an approving resolution. Professionals inspecting improvements 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.

(c) 

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.

(d) 

The Borough or Board shall not bill the applicant, or charge any escrow account or deposit authorized herein for any Borough clerical or administrative functions, overhead expenses, meeting room charges, or any other Borough costs and expenses except as provided for in this section, nor shall a Borough professional add any such charges to his or her bill.

(e) 

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

G. 

Rates of payment for professional services. If the salary, staff support and overhead for a professional are provided by the Borough, the hourly rate charged to the deposit from said professional shall be at 200% of the sum of the products resulting from multiplying the hourly base salary, which shall be established annually by ordinance, of each of the professionals by 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. For other professionals, the charge shall be at the same rate as all other work of the same nature by the professional for the Borough when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants or developers. Rates for professional services shall be in accordance with a schedule of professional fees filed annually with the Board Secretary and maintained in the office of the Borough Clerk for public inspection.

H. 

Vouchers for payment of professional services. Each payment charged to a deposit for the review of applications, review and preparation of documents and inspection of improvements shall be pursuant to a voucher from the professional. The processing of vouchers shall be in accordance with the following:

(1) 

The voucher shall describe the services provided, identify the personnel performing the service, and for each date the services are performed, the hours spent to one-quarter-hour increments, the hourly rate and the expenses incurred.

(2) 

All professionals shall submit vouchers to the Chief Financial Officer of the Borough on a monthly basis in accordance with the schedules and procedures established by the Chief Financial Officer of the Borough.

(3) 

If the services are provided by a Borough employee, the Borough employee shall prepare and submit to the Chief Financial Officer of the Borough a statement containing the same information as required on a voucher, on a monthly basis.

(4) 

The professional shall send an informational copy of all vouchers or statements submitted to the Chief Financial Officer simultaneously to the applicant.

(5) 

The Chief Financial Officer shall prepare and send to the applicant a statement which shall include an accounting of 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 monthly charges exceed $1,000.

I. 

Appeals of charges. An applicant shall notify in writing the Governing Body, with copies to the Chief Financial Officer, the Board and the professional, whenever the applicant disputes the charges made by a professional for services rendered to the Borough in reviewing applications for development, review and preparation of documents, inspection of improvements, or other charges made pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law. The following shall apply:

(1) 

An applicant shall file an appeal within 45 days from receipt of the information copy of the professional's voucher required by § 184-37H except that if the professional has not supplied the applicant with an informational copy of the voucher, then the applicant shall file his or her appeal within 60 days from receipt of the Borough statement of activity against the deposit or escrow account required by § 184-37H(5).

(2) 

The Governing Body, or its designee(s), shall within a reasonable time period attempt to mediate any disputed charges.

(3) 

If the matter is not resolved to the satisfaction of the applicant, the applicant may appeal to the Union County Construction Board of Appeals established under N.J.S.A. 52:27D-127. An applicant or his or her authorized agent shall submit the appeal in writing to the County Construction Board of Appeals. The applicant or his or her authorized agent shall simultaneously send a copy of the appeal to the Borough, the Board, and any professional whose charge is the subject of the appeal. The procedures followed by the County Construction Board of Appeals shall be as set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.2b and c.

(4) 

An applicant may file an appeal for an ongoing series of charges by a professional during a period not exceeding six 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.

(5) 

During the pendency of any appeal, the Borough or approving authority shall continue to process, hear, and decide the application for development, and to inspect the development in the normal course, and shall not withhold, delay, or deny reviews, inspections, signing of subdivision plats or site plans, the reduction or the release of performance and maintenance guarantees, the issuance of construction permits or certificates of occupancy, or any other approval or permit because an appeal has been filed or is pending under this subsection. The Chief Financial Officer may pay charges out of the appropriate escrow account or deposit for which an appeal has been filed.

(6) 

If a charge is disallowed after payment, the Chief Financial Officer shall reimburse the deposit or escrow account in the amount of any such disallowed charge or refund the amount to the applicant. If a charge is disallowed after payment to a professional or consultant who is not an employee of the Borough, the professional or consultant shall reimburse the Borough in the amount of any such disallowed charge.