THE TOWN OF JAFFREY Section XVI: Public Capital Facilities Impact Fee Ordinance Article I: Authority Authority for this ordinance is established pursuant to New Hampshire RSA's 674:17, 674:21, 674:36, and 674:43, 674:44, and is further supported by the legal decisions rendered in Land/Vest Properties, Inc. v. Town of Plainfield (117 N.H. 817 (1977)) and New England Brickmaster, Inc. v. Town of Salem (____N.H. ___, (1990)). Article II: Intent and Purpose This ordinance is intended to: A. Implement and be consistent with the Town of Jaffrey's Master Plan; B. Allocate a fair and equitable share of the cost of public facilities to new development; C. Require new development to contribute its proportionate share of funds necessary to accommodate its impact on public facilities having a rational nexus to the proposed development, and for which the need is attributable to the proposed development; and D. Implement the relevant portions of the Jaffrey Subdivision Regulations and Site Plan Review Regulations. Article III: Findings The Jaffrey Town Meeting finds, determines and declares that: A. The Town of Jaffrey is responsible for and committed to the provision of public facilities and services at levels necessary to support residential and non- residential growth and development. B. Such facilities and services have been and will be provided by the Town utilizing funds allocated via the Capital Improvements Program which has been regularly updated pursuant to New Hampshire RSA 674:5. C. The rapid rate of growth experienced by the Town in recent years as well as projected growth rates, would necessitate an excessive expenditure of public funds in order to maintain adequate facility standards. D. Each of the types of land development described in Section VII hereof, will create a need for the construction, equipping, or expansion of public capital facilities. E. The imposition of impact fees is one of the preferred methods of ensuring that public expenditures are not excessive, and that development bears a proportionate share of the cost of public capital facilities necessary to accommodate such development. This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health, safety and welfare. F. The fees established by Section VII are derived from, are based upon, and do not exceed the costs of: (l) providing additional public capital facilities necessitated by the new land developments for which the fees are levied; or (2) compensating the Town of Jaffrey for expenditures made for existing public facilities which were constructed in anticipation of new growth and development. G. The report entitled Town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire: Development of Impact Fee Schedules (Cannon Associates, July, 1990), sets forth a reasonable methodology and analysis for the determination of the impact of new development on the need for and costs of public capital facilities in the Town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire and is the rational nexus of this ordinance. Article IV: Applicability and Rules of Construction A. This ordinance shall be uniformly applicable to all new development which occurs within the corporate boundaries of the Town of Jaffrey. B. The provisions of this ordinance shall be liberally construed so as to effectively carry out its purpose in the interest of the public health, safety and welfare. C. For the purposes of administration and enforcement of this ordinance, unless otherwise stated in this ordinance, the following rules of construction shall apply to the test of this ordinance: (1) In the case of any difference of meaning or implication between the text of this ordinance and any caption, illustration, summary table, or illustrative table, the text shall control. (2) The word "shall" is always mandatory and not discretionary; the word "may" is permissive. (3) Words used in the present tense shall include the future, and words used in the singular number shall include the plural, and the plural the singular, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary. (4) The phrase "used for" includes "arranged for", "designed for", "maintained for", or "occupied for"-. (5) The word "person" includes an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an incorporated association, or any other similar entity. (6) Unless the context clearly indicates the contrary, where a regulation involves two (2) or more items, conditions, provisions, or events connected by the conjunction "and", "or" or "either.. or", the conjunction shall be interpreted as follows: (a) "And" indicates that all connected terms, conditions, provisions or events shall apply. (b) "0r" indicates that the connected terms, conditions, provisions or events may apply singly or in any combination. (c) "Either... or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions or events shall apply singly but not in combination. (7) The word "includes" shall not limit a term to the specific example but is intended to extend its meaning to all other instances or circumstances of like kind or character. (8) "Town Manager" means the town manager appointed by the Board of selectmen pursuant to RSA 37 or the municipal officials which he/she may designate to carry out the administration of this ordinance. Article V: Definitions A. "Dwelling Unit" is any room or collection of rooms forming a habitable unit for one or more persons with its own cooking and food storage equipment and its own bathing and toilet facilities and its own living, sleeping and eating areas wholly within such rooms or collection of rooms. B. A "feepayer" is a person applying for the issuance of a building permit or permit for mobile home installation. C. "Gross Living Area" is the square footage of all floor areas which include finished space that is heated, excluding heated garages and out buildings which do not include living quarters. D. "New Development" includes any activity which results in the creation of a new dwelling unit, either through new construction or the conversion of existing space. E. "New Development" does not include: (1) the reconstruction of a structure that has been destroyed by fire or natural disaster provided that there is no change nor change of use in the size and density of the structure; (2) the replacement of a mobile home; or (3) the construction of an accessory structure which would not increase the demand for facilities by the principal structure. F. "Public Capital Facilities" means the undivided interest of the Town of Jaffrey in the assets, facilities, and equipment which are owned and operated by the Town of Jaffrey or cooperatively with other municipalities and which have a useful life of no less than five years. G. "Public Capital Facilities" do not include the costs associated with the operation, maintenance, repair of such facilities or with facility replacements which do not increase the capacity or level of service, but does include reasonable costs for planning, engineering, design, land acquisition, and other reasonable costs associated with such facilities. Article VI: Imposition of Public Capital Facilities Impact Fee A. Any person, who, after the effective date of this Ordinance seeks to undertake new development within the Town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, by applying for a building permit or permit for mobile home installation, is hereby required to pay a public capital facilities impact fee in the manner and amount set forth in Section VII of this Ordinance. B. No new building permit or new permit for mobile home installation for any activity requiring payment of an impact fee pursuant to Section VII of this Ordinance shall be issued unless and until the public capital facilities impact fee hereby required has been paid. Article VII: Computation of the Amount of Capital Facilities Impact Fee A. At the option of the feepayer, the amount of the public capital facilities impact fee may be determined by the following fee schedules (#'s 1-8), which are derived from methodology set forth in the 1990 Cannon Associates report (Town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire: Development of Impact Fee Schedules). In order to encourage use of these schedules, a discount of ten percent (10%) will be applied, unless the Selectmen have otherwise reduced the fee pursuant to Article XVIII. (1) Fire Facilities $244.67 per unit (2) Police Facilities: $ 56.91 per unit (3) General Government Facilities: $ 78.30 per unit (4) Town Roads and Highways: $ 23.00 per lane mile (5) Recreation Facilities: $162.60 per unit (6) Sewer Facilities: $ 1.38 per gallon (7) Water Facilities: $ 2.41 per gallon (8) School Facilities: (a) Single Family Detached $1.88 per square Residence foot up to a maximum of $3,559.35. (b) Multi-Family Residence $1.87 per square (2 or more attached foot up to a maximum units): of $2,134.49. (c) Apartment $0.70 per square (primarily rental units) foot up to a maximum of $877.18. (d) Mobile Home: $1.51 per square foot up to a maximum of $1,175.41. B. For the uses identified in Schedule VI-6, the land use definitions contained in Trip Generation (4th & 5th Edition, Institute of Transportation Engineers; Washington D.C., 1987) shall apply. C. If a proposed new development includes mixed uses, then the fee shall be determined by using the above schedules and apportioning the space committed to uses specified on the schedules. D. If the type of proposed new development activity is not specified on the above fee schedules, the Town Manager shall use the fee calculations applicable to the most nearly comparable type of land use on the above fee schedules. The Town Manager shall be guided in the selection of a comparable type by the Jaffrey Master Plan, supporting documents of the Master Plan, and the Jaffrey Zoning Ordinance. If the Town Manager determines that there is not a comparable type of land use on the above fee schedules, then the Town Manager shall determine the fee by considering demographic or other documentation which is available from the Planning Board, and state and regional authorities. E. In the case of change of use, redevelopment, or expansion or modification of an existing use which constitutes new development, the impact fee shall be based upon the net positive increase in the impact fee for the new use as compared to the previous use. F. If a feepayer opts not to have the impact fee determined according to Paragraph A of this section, then the feepayer shall prepare and submit to the Town Manager an independent fee calculation study for the new development activity which is proposed. The independent fee calculation study shall follow the prescribed methodologies and formats contained in the report entitled Town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire: Development of Impact Fee Schedules, prepared by Cannon Associates and dated July, 1990. The documentation submitted shall show the basis upon which the independent fee calculation was made. The Town Manager shall consider the documentation submitted by the feepayer but is not required to accept such documentation as he/she shall reasonably deem to be inaccurate or not reliable and may, in the alternative, require the feepayer to submit additional or different documentation for consideration. If an acceptable independent fee calculation study is not presented, the fee payer shall pay public capital facilities impact fees based upon the schedule shown in Paragraph A of this section. If an acceptable independent fee calculation study is presented, the Town Manager may adjust the fee to that appropriate to the particular development. Determinations made by the Town Manager pursuant to this paragraph may be appealed to the Jaffrey Planning Board by filing a written request with the Planning Board within ten (lO) days of the Town Manager's determination. Article VIII: Payment of Fee A. The feepayer shall pay the public capital facilities impact fee required by this Ordinance to the Town of Jaffrey prior to issuance of a building permit or permit for a mobile home installation for a proposed new development. B. Upon agreement by the Town Manager and the feepayer, the public capital facilities impact fee may be paid in equal installments, including interest accrued at six percent (6%) per annum, over a period of not more than three (3) years. If the feepayer chooses this extended form of payment, he/she shall execute and file with the Town Clerk, as a condition of the building permit, a "Notice of Capital Facilities Impact Fees Due", which shall be recorded by the Town as a lien against the subject property and entitle the Town to such remedies as are available as a lien holder. C. All unpaid fees shall constitute a lien on the property and will be collected in the same manner as uncollected property taxes. Article IX: Appeals A. Any aggrieved party may appeal to the Planning Board the amount of the Public Capital Facilities impact fee imposed pursuant to Section VII herein; the Town Manager's decision regarding alternative fee calculations as provided in Section VII (F) herein; or the Town Manager's decision regarding valuation of fee credits as provided in Section XIV herein. B. If a letter of credit drawn on a New Hampshire bank is submitted in an amount equal to the amount of the public capital facilities impact fee as determined by Section VII, herein, a building permit or a permit for mobile home installation may be issued. Article X: Administration of Funds Collected All funds collected shall be properly identified by and promptly transferred for deposit in the appropriate Public Capital Facilities Impact Fee Accounts as determined in Section XI of this ordinance and used solely for the purposes specified in this Ordinance. Impact fee accounts shall be special revenue fund accounts and under no circumstances will impact fee revenues accrue to the general fund. Article XI: Custody and Maintenance of Fund Accounts A. There are hereby established eight (8) separate Public Capital Facilities Impact Fee accounts: (1) the Fire Facilities Accounts; (2) the Police Facilities Accounts; (3) the General Government Facilities Accounts; (4) the Town Roads and Highway Facilities Account; (5) the Recreation and Open Space Facilities Accounts; (6) the Sewer Facilities Account; (7) the Water Facilities Account, and (8) the School Facilities Account. These shall be non-lapsing, interest-bearing accounts which are not commingled with other Town funds. B. At the end of each fiscal year, the Town Manager shall make a report giving a particular account of all impact fee transactions during the year. C. Funds withdrawn from these accounts must be used in accordance with the provision of Section III of this Ordinance. Article XII: Use of Funds A. Funds withdrawn from any of the eight accounts listed above shall be used solely for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, equipping, or making improvements to the particular public capital facilities for which the account is designated. B. In the event that bonds or similar debt instruments have been issued for public capital facilities which were constructed in anticipation of current growth, or are issued for advanced provision of capital facilities for which public capital facilities impact fees may be expended, impact fees may be used to pay debt service on such bonds or similar debt instruments to the extent that the facilities provided are of the type described in paragraphs A through G, above. C. Effective upon passage of this Ordinance, the annual updates of the Town's Capital Improvement Program shall contain a methodology for assigning funds, including any accrued interest, from the several Public Capital Facilities Impact Fee Accounts to specified public capital facilities improvement projects and related expenses. Monies, including any accrued interest, not assigned in any fiscal period, shall be retained in the same Public Capital Facilities Impact Fee Accounts until the next fiscal period except as provided by the refund provisions of this Ordinance. D. The Town of Jaffrey shall be entitled to retain not more than ten percent (10%) of the funds collected as compensation for the expense of collecting the fee and administering this Ordinance. Article XIII: Refund or Fees Paid A. The current owner of property on which a public capital facilities impact fee has been paid may apply for a full or partial refund of such fees plus accrued interest calculated at six percent (6%) per annum. B. The refund shall be owed when the Town has failed, within the period of six (6) years from either the payment of such fee or the last installment payment, to expend or encumber such fees on public capital facilities intended to benefit the development which paid the fees. In event that a refund is due, the Town Manager shall notify the owner of record. C. In the event that the owner elects to apply for a refund, such application shall be submitted in writing to the Town Manager within one (1) year of the date upon which the refund arises. In considering the amount of the refund, the Town Manager shall take into account the facility standards and/or levels of service upon which the public capital facilities impact fee was based as well as the facility standards and/or levels of service existing at the time when the refund is claimed. Article XIV: Credits A. Land and/or public capital facilities improvements may be offered by the feepayer as total or partial payment of the required impact fee. The offer must request or provide for a public capital facilities impact fee credit. B. Credit for the dedication of land shall be valued as follows: (l) at the equalized assessed value determined by the Town Assessor; or (2) by such other appropriate method as the Board of Selectmen may establish for particular public capital facilities improvements; or (3) by fair market value established by private appraisers acceptable to the Town. Credit for the dedication of land shall be provided when the property has been conveyed at no charge to,and accepted by, the Town in a manner satisfactory to the Board of Selectmen. C. Applicants for credit for construction of public capital facilities improvements shall submit acceptable engineering drawings and specifications and construction cost estimates to the Town Manager. The Town Manager shall determine credit for construction based upon either these cost estimates or upon alternative engineering criteria and construction cost estimates if the Town Manager determines that such estimates submitted by the applicant are either unreliable or inaccurate. D. The Town Manager shall provide the applicant with a letter or certificate setting forth the dollar amount of the credit, the public capital facilities impact fee component(s) to which the credit will apply, the reason for the credit, and the legal description or other adequate description of the project or development to which the credit may be applied. The applicant must sign and date a duplicate copy of such letter or certificate indicating his agreement to the terms of the letter or certificate and return such signed document to the Town Manager before credit will be given. The failure of the applicant to sign, date, and return such document within sixty (60) days shall nullify the credit. E. Except as provided in Paragraph F, credit against public capital facility impact fees otherwise due will not be provided until: (1) the construction is completed and accepted by the Town or the state, whichever is applicable. (2) a suitable maintenance and warranty bond is received by the Town Clerk, when applicable. F. Credit may be provided before completion of specified public capital facilities improvements if adequate assurances are given by the applicant that the standards set out in Paragraph D will be met and if the feepayer posts security as provided below for the cost of such construction. Security in the forms of a performance bond, irrevocable letter of credit or escrow agreement shall be posted with the Town Clerk in an amount determined by the Town Manager. If the public capital facilities construction project will not be constructed within one (1) year of the acceptance of the offer by the Town Manager, the amount of the security shall be reviewed and approved by the Town Treasurer prior to acceptance of the security by the Town Clerk. If the public capital facilities construction project is not to be completed within five (5) years of the date of the feepayer's offer, the Board of Selectmen must approve the public capital facilities construction project and its scheduled completion date prior to the acceptance of the offer by the Town Manager. G. Any claim for credit must be made no later than the time of application for a building permit or permit for mobile home installation. H. Credits shall not be transferable from one project or development to another without the approval of the Board of Selectmen. I. Credits shall not be transferable from one component of the public capital facilities impact fee to another component of this fee. J. Determinations made by the Town Manager pursuant to the credit provisions of this section may be appealed to the Jaffrey Planning Board pursuant to the procedures contained in Section IX of this ordinance. Article XV: Additional Assessments Payment of a public capital facilities impact fee does not restrict the Town or the Planning Board in requiring other payments from the feepayer, including such payments relating to the cost of extensions of water and sewer mains or other infrastructure and facility needs not other-wise included in the public capital facilities impact fee. Article XVI: Premature and Scattered Development Nothing in this Ordinance shall be construed so as to limit the existing authority of the Planning Board to provide against development which is scattered or premature, requires an excessive expenditure of public funds, or otherwise violates the Town of Jaffrey's Site Plan Review Regulations, Subdivision Regulations, or Zoning Ordinance. Article XVII: Review The fees contained in Section VII shall be reviewed periodically by the Board of Selectmen at least once each fiscal biennium. Article XVIII: Severability If any section, phrase, sentence or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof. Article XIX: Effective Date This Ordinance shall become effective on March 12, 1991.