House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

Posted:	March 8, 2013 03:41 PM
From:	Representative Steven J. Santarsiero
To:	All House members
Subject:	Reintroduce HB 1639 of 2011-12: Amend the PA Municipalities Planning Code-providing for the charge of fees

In the near future, I will re-introduce former HB 1639 of 2011-12, authorizing municipalities to charge fees for the review of conditional use applications. Many township supervisors find it extremely frustrating that a developer is required to reimburse a township for consultant review fees under a “use by right” development, and yet the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code does not direct reimbursement for conditional use development. Consultant review fees, which include such things as storm water, roadway and lighting engineers, are assumed by the municipality alone and may become burdensome, especially during tough economic times. In one instance, a Pennsylvania municipality was billed $108,000 in review fees for a conditional use development. My legislation authorizes a municipality’s governing body to charge review fees for the evaluation of conditional use applications, pursuant to standards set forth in the zoning ordinance. These review fees may include reasonable and necessary charges by a municipality’s professional consultants for review and report on a conditional use application, but cannot exceed the rate or cost charged by the consultants for comparable services to the municipality for services not reimbursed or otherwise imposed upon applicants. This creates a situation where both the applicant and the municipality share the costs of the consultants’ services, thus saving the municipality, and ultimately its taxpayers, money.
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Introduced as HB1322