ARTICLE 11 - ADMINISTRATION OF THE REGULATIONS
11.1 The Administrative Officer
11.1.1 Administration
Administration of these regulations shall be under the direction of the Administrative Officer, who shall report to the Planning Board. The Town Planner is hereby designated as the Administrative Officer.
11.1.2 Responsibilities
The Administrative Officer administers the review, approval, recording and enforcement provisions of these regulations, chairs the Technical Review Committee, and coordinates planning functions with the Planning Board, the Town Council, other town boards and staff, and state agencies.
11.1.3 Alternate Administrative Officer
The Chair of the Planning Board is hereby designated as the Alternate Administrative Officer. The alternate Administrative Officer is authorized to perform the duties of the Administrative Officer when the position of Administrative Officer is vacant or when the Administrative Officer is temporarily unavailable. The Alternate Administrative Officer shall have the authority to delegate to another member or members of the Planning Board any duties of the Administrative Officer that are being temporarily carried out by the Alternate Administrative Officer.
11.2 Technical Review Committee
11.2.1 The Technical Review Committee reviews projects for which Planning Board approval is sought. The purpose of the review is to determine whether the application satisfies the technical requirements of these regulations, the zoning ordinance, and any other applicable ordinance or regulation, and to make recommendations to the Planning Board concerning technical requirements and conditions of approval.
11.2.2 The Technical Review Committee shall consist of:
a) The Administrative Officer, who shall serve as the chair;
b) The Public Works Director;
c) The Zoning Enforcement Officer;
d) A member of the Planning Board;
e) The Town Engineer, or a private engineer retained by the Town to provide ngineering services to the Planning Department;
f) The manager of the Richmond Water department, if applicable;
g) A member of the Conservation Commission, and
h) The chief of the Richmond-Carolina Fire District and/or the chief of the Hope Valley-Wyoming Fire District, depending on the fire district in which a project under review is located, or his or her designate.
The Planning Board Chair shall designate the Planning Board member who sits on the Technical Review Committee. Different members may be designated to review different applications or to serve on the committee for different periods of time.
11.2.3 The Technical Review Committee will review applications for major land development projects when such applications are referred to the Technical Review Committee by the Planning Board. The review will be conducted during master plan review. The Planning Board may require an additional review during preliminary plan review. The Technical Review Committee also may review any other application or matters referred to it by the Planning Board.
11.2.4 Review by the Technical Review Committee is advisory in nature. For each application reviewed, the committee shall prepare a written report to the Planning Board. The report shall be made a permanent part of the Planning Department file on the application, and shall be made available to the applicant before the Planning Board meeting at which the report is first considered.
11.3 Administrative Fees
This section is intended to provide for more equitable application fees, review fees, and inspection fees that accurately reflect the actual costs incurred, to encourage better design, and to promote more informed decision-making by the Planning Board.
11.3.1 Application Fees
a) The application fees in Table 11.1 shall be paid when an application is submitted. If an application is filed without the application fee, the application will not be certified as complete.
b) The Planning Board may reduce or waive an application fee if the applicant shows to the satisfaction of the Planning Board that reduction or waiver is justified by the nature of the application or the circumstances of the applicant. A decision to reduce or waive application fees shall be in writing and shall include findings of fact.
c) Once the review process has commenced, no application fee shall be refunded.
d) Notwithstanding the provisions of Table 11.1, no applicant shall be required to pay more than a total of $5,000 for each stage of review.
e) No fee established by the Planning Board shall become effective without Town Council approval.
f) The payment of administrative fees, project review fees, and inspection fees shall be by certified or bank check or by any other method approved by the Finance Director.
g) Any reduction by the Planning Board of any fee in Table 11.1 for comprehensive permit applications shall be considered a municipal subsidy as that term is defined in Ch. 18.39 of the Code of Ordinances.
(Amended 3/28/17)
TABLE 11.1
| Type of application | Stage | Application fee | |||
| Administrative subdivision | | $100 | |||
| Minor residential subdivision | Pre-application review | $200 | |||
| | Preliminary plan submission | $200 plus $20 per unit/lot | |||
| | Final approval | $100 plus $20 per unit/lot | |||
| Minor residential land development project | Pre-application review | $200 | |||
| | Preliminary plan submission | $200 plus $20 per unit/lot | |||
| | Final approval | $100 plus $20 per unit/lot | |||
| Major residential subdivision | Pre-application review | $500 | |||
| | Master plan submission | $200 plus $40 per unit/lot | |||
| | Preliminary plan submission | $200 plus $40 per unit/lot | |||
| | Final plan submission | $100 plus $40 per unit/lot | |||
| Major residential, mixed-use, or non-residential land development project | Pre-application review | $500 | |||
| | Master plan submission | $200 plus $20 per unit/lot for residential; $25 per 1,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area for non-residential | |||
| | Preliminary plan submission | $200 plus $20 per unit/lot for residential; $25 per 1,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area for non-residential | |||
| | Final plan submission | $100 plus $20 per unit/lot for residential; $25 per 1,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area for non-residential | |||
| All | Request for reinstatement of expired approval | $300 | |||
| Comprehensive permit – minor subdivision or land development project | Pre-application review | $200 | |||
| | Preliminary plan submission | $200 plus $20 per unit/lot | |||
| | Final approval | $100 plus $20 per unit/lot | |||
| Comprehensive permit – major subdivision or land development project | Pre-application review | $500 | |||
| | Master plan submission | $200 plus $40 per unit/lot for residential; $100 per 1,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area for non-residential | |||
| | Preliminary plan submission | $200 plus $40 per unit/lot for residential; $100 per 1,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area for non-residential. | |||
| | Final plan submission | $100 plus $40 per unit/lot for residential; $50 per 1,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area for non-residential | |||
(Amended 4/25/17)
11.3.2 Project review fees
a) For every application except administrative subdivisions and subdivisions that do not create any developable lots, the applicant shall bear the cost of professional review. Professional review includes review by the Town's consulting engineering firm, and may also include, at the discretion of the Planning Board, review by independently-contracted engineers, traffic engineers, planners, landscape architects, architects, attorneys, or other professionals. Professional review also includes participation by consultants in the Technical Review Committee. The purpose of the review is to assist the Planning Board and the Town Planner in ensuring that the application satisfies the requirements of the Comprehensive Plan, the Land Development and Subdivision Regulations, the Zoning Ordinance, and all other applicable ordinances and regulations.
b) Applicants shall make the initial payment at Master Plan submission for a major subdivision or land development project, and at Preliminary Plan submission for a minor subdivision or land development project. The initial payment shall be $500 for the first five or fewer lots or units and $250 for each additional lot or unit, or $500 for the first 5,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area and $250 for each additional 1,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area. When the number of lots is different from the number of units, the greater of the two numbers shall be used to determine the initial payment. When 75% of the initial payment has been spent, the Town Planner may require the applicant to submit additional funds, based on an estimate of the entire cost of the review.
c) Project review fees shall be deposited in a separate interest-bearing account maintained by the Finance Director. When the Planning Board receives an invoice from a professional for review services rendered, the Board shall review the invoice, approve payment if appropriate, and forward the invoice to the Finance Director.
d) At any time while the application is pending, the applicant may ask the Town Planner for an accounting of his or her account balance, including fees paid and payments made on invoices.
e) Within twenty-one (21) days after the final plat is recorded in the land evidence records, the Town Planner shall arrange with the Finance Director to return any unspent balance in an applicant's account, together with any interest earned, to the applicant.
f) An applicant who objects to the choice of a professional retained to review his or her application for any of the reasons listed below may ask the Planning Board to retain a different professional.
i. The professional is in a position to benefit financially from approval or disapproval of the application;
ii. The professional is not qualified to undertake the review and render an opinion;
iii. The professional has had a business relationship with the applicant during the previous eighteen (18) months.
During the time that such a request is pending, the time periods for Planning Board review of the application shall stop running.
11.3.3 Inspection fees
a) An applicant shall be required to pay inspection fees as part of any application that includes construction of improvements that will require inspection by Town employees or by independent consulting professionals retained by the Town. The purpose of the inspection is to ensure that the construction is in conformance with the construction standards in these regulations.
b) As a condition of Final Approval, the applicant shall pay an inspection fee equal to 2% of the estimated cost of the improvements. The Director of Public Works shall determine the amount of the inspection fee.
c) The fee shall be deposited in the project review fee account or another separate interest-bearing account maintained by the Finance Director.
d) The Town shall retain an amount equal to the actual cost of inspection. Within twenty-one (21) days after the final plat is recorded, or, if improvement guarantees are provided, within twenty-one (21) days after the improvement guarantees are released in full, the Town Planner shall arrange with the Finance Director to return any unspent portion of the inspection fee, together with any interest earned, to the applicant.
11.4 Planning Board records
11.14.1 The Planning Board shall keep permanent written records of its proceedings and decisions. The records shall be available for review by the public.
11.14.2 For each application considered, the Planning Board shall keep a permanent written record that includes all written comments and recommendations from the Administrative Officer, the Technical Review Committee, other town departments, boards and commissions, state and federal agencies, and minutes of each Planning Board meeting that record the members present and the vote of each member on each motion.
11.14.3 Applications for subdivision or land development project approval that have been certified as complete shall be available for review by the public.
(Adopted 9/9/03, amended 1/23/07, 10/9/07, 8/11/09, 4/13/10, 10/12/10, 4/25/17)