3.1 Purpose
3.1.1 The purpose of the fee system is to defray the costs of administering the Bylaw, provide engineering and consultants services, requests for action from the Commission, or to secure and endure satisfactory performance of work required by any Permit.
3.2 Authority
3.2.1 The filing fee schedule is promulgated pursuant to Section 5 of the Bylaw.
3.2.2 The escrow account, performance bond or other security mechanism used to ensure satisfactory performance of work is promulgated in accordance with Section 15 of the Bylaw.
3.3 Time of Payment and Waiver of Fee
3.3.1 At the time of submission of a Notice of Intent or a Request for a Determination, or other request, the applicant shall pay a filing fee.
3.3.2 Fees for a Certificate of Compliance shall not be required for projects with an active Order of
Conditions existing on the effective date of these Regulations.
3.3.3 The filing fee may be waived for a Notice of Intent, Request for Determination or other request
filed by a government agency.
3.3.4 After a duly noticed Public Hearing, the Commission shall have the right to change the fee schedule shown below. Any change of the fee schedule must be advertised and posted at the Town Hall at least thirty (30) days prior to the date the changes become effective.
3.4 Disputes over Filing Fees
3.4.1 Whenever the Commission or its Agent determines that an inadequate fee has been paid, the time period for the Commission to act shall be stayed until the balance of the fee is paid.
3.4.2 The applicant may appeal the fee(s) pursuant to the Massachusetts General Laws.
3.4.3 The applicant may bring the matter to the Commission at a regular meeting prior to the filing of an application or other request for the Commission's approval.
3.5 Filing Fee Schedule
3.5.1 Determination of Negligible Impact: |
FREE |
3.5.2 Request for Determination of Applicability: |
$25.00 |
3.5.3 Notice of Intent |
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3.5.3.1 Work on a single family lot - additions, pools, site work without a house; control vegetation; resource improvement; work on septic system separate from house; monitoring well activities minus roadway; new agricultural or aquaculture projects. |
$30.00 |
3.5.3.2 Construction of a single family house, parking lots, wetland crossings for Single family homes, water level variations, any activity not listed on 3.5.3.1 |
$250.00 |
3.5.4 Work within the Riverfront Area and another resource area |
50% Additional Fee |
3.5.5 Wetland Alterations |
$0.25/s.f. of Impact |
3.5.6 Proposed Subdivisions: |
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3.5.6.1 Roadways and utilities: $250.00 + $2.00 per foot of roadway side line within 100 foot buffer zone of resources under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission |
3.5.6.2 Lots in proposed subdivisions: $100.00 per lot for lots within 100 foot buffer zone of resources under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission |
3.5.6.3 Multi-family Dwelling Units: $250.00 + $100.00 per dwelling unit if all or part of which lies within 100 foot buffer zone of resources under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission. |
3.5.6.4 Commercial and Industrial Sites: $400.00 + $0.50 per square foot of resource area disturbed under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission. |
3.5.7 Time Extensions: |
$25.00 |
3.5.8 Amendments to Orders of Conditions: Amendments to existing Orders of Conditions shall require the same fees as appropriate for Orders of Conditions of similar extent. |
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3.5.9 After the fact applications: All fees associated with after the fact applications without an enforcement order will be increased 50%. |
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3.5.10 Enforcement Order: |
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3.5.10.2 There shall be a $150.00 fee to lift an Enforcement Order for the first offense. |
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3.5.10.3 There shall be a $300.00 fee to lift an Enforcement Order for the second offense. |
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3.5.11 Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation |
$1.00/linear foot |
3.5.1 Certificate of Compliance: Due upon issuance of an Order of Conditions |
$50.00 |
3.5.13 Inspection: I nspections listed in Appendix C are free. If multiple visits are required for an applicant to satisfy an inspection requirement, a $25.00 fee per additional site visit shall be imposed. Failure to provide the Commission with a written request for each required inspection shall result in a $50.00 fee |
3.6 Refund of Fee
3.6.1 If, at any time, the applicant withdraws the Notice of Intent or Request for Determination, which has been filed, there will be no refund of the fee, which was paid.
3.7 Consultants Fees
3.7.1 As provided by M.G. L. Ch. 44 Sec.53G, the Ashburnham Conservation Commission may
impose reasonable fees for the employment of outside consultants, engaged by the Conservation Commission for specific expert services deemed necessary to the Commission to come to a final decision on an application submitted to the Conservation Commission pursuant to the requirements of the Wetlands Protection Act (G.L. c. 131 Sec. 40) and the Town of Ashburnham Wetlands Protection Bylaw, Conservation Commission Act (GL c. 40 Sec. 8C), or any other state or municipal statute, bylaw or regulation as they may be enacted or amended from time to time. The Commission shall not require consultant fees for buffer zone projects on individual single family lots unless the Commission determines that such work will have a negative impact on a resource area.
3.7.2 Funds received by the Conservation Commission pursuant to these rules shall be deposited with the Ashburnham Treasurer who shall establish a special account for this purpose. Expenditures from this special account may be made at the discretion of the Conservation Commission without further appropriation as provided in G.L c. 44 Sec. 53G. Expenditures from this account shall be made only in connection with the review of a specific project or projects for which a consultant fee has been collected from the applicant.
3.7.3 Specific consultant services may include, but are not limited to resource area, survey and delineation, analysis of resource area values, hydro-geologic and drainage analysis, impacts on municipal conservation lands and environmental or land use law. The consultant shall be chosen by, and report only to, the Commission and or its Agent.
3.7.4 The Conservation Commission shall give written notice to the applicant of the selection of an outside consultant, which notice shall state the identity of the consultant, the amount of the fee to be charged to the applicant, and a request for the payment of the fee in its entirety. Such notice shall be deemed to have been given on the date it was mailed or hand delivered. No such costs or expenses shall be incurred by the applicant if the application or request is withdrawn within five days of the date the notice is given.
3.7.5 The fee must be received in its entirety prior to the initiation of consulting services. The Commission may request additional consultant fees if necessary review requires a larger expenditure than originally anticipated or new information requires additional consultant services.
3.7.6 Failure by the applicant to pay the consultant fee specified by the Commission within ten (10) business days of the request for payment shall be cause for the Commission to determine that the application is administratively incomplete (except in the case of an appeal). The Commission shall state such in a letter to the applicant, copied to DEP. No additional review or action shall be taken on the permit request until the applicant has paid the requested fee.
3.7.7 The applicant may appeal the selection of the outside consultant to the Board of Selectmen who may disqualify the outside consultant only on the grounds that the consultant has a conflict or interest or does not possess the minimum qualifications. The minimum qualifications shall consist of either an educational degree or three or more years of practice in the field at issue or a related field (in the case of engineering issues the consultant must be licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts). The applicant may not appeal on the basis of the scope of the work and the amount of the fees. Such an appeal must be in writing and received by the Board of Selectmen and a copy received by the Conservation Commission within ten (10) days of the date consultant fees were requested by the Conservation Commission. The required
time limits for action upon the application shall be extended by the duration of the administrative appeal.
3.8 Performance Bond
3.8.1 The Commission may require the establishment of an escrow account or other security for the benefit of the Town of Ashburnham, sufficient as to form and surety in the opinion of the Commission to secure faithful and satisfactory performance of work required by any Order of Conditions in such sums and upon such conditions as the Commission may require.
3.8.2 Notwithstanding the above, the amount of such escrow account or security shall not exceed the estimated cost, including inflation, for the Commission to complete the work required or the restoration of affected lands and properties if the work is not performed as required, whichever is greater. Forfeiture of any such escrow account or security shall be as detailed in M.G.L. c. 41 sec. 81U.
3.8.3 For replication projects, the applicant shall provide an escrow bond for the duration of a monitoring program plus one (1) year to cover the correction of any deficiencies revealed by the program. Said bond shall, at a minimum, be equal to the initial cost of the replication.
EFFECTIVE BY VOTE OF THE ASHBURNHAM CONSERVATION COMMISSION AFTER HEARINGS HELD ON OCTOBER 23, 2006, NOVEMBER 13, 2006, NOVEMBER 27, 2006, JANUARY 8, 2007, JANUARY 27, 2007, AND FEBRUARY 12, 2007 AND AS VOTED ON FEBRUARY 12, 2007 .
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