WHEREAS, agreeable to the provisions of Chapter 131 of Title 24, Vermont Statutes Annotated, on December 29, 1986 the Selectboard of the Town of Hartford enacted an ordinance establishing and imposing an impact fee upon residential and commercial development within the Town; and
WHEREAS, said ordinance, as amended, is codified as Chapter 90 of the Town of Hartford Code of Ordinances; and
WHEREAS, the validity and enforceability of said ordinance was confirmed in 1993 by the Vermont Supreme Court in the matter of Robes, et al. v Town of Hartford, et al. 161 VT 342; and
WHEREAS, the Selectboard has determined that an examination into the methodology and formula by which the amount of Town’s impact fee is calculated is warranted; and
WHEREAS, the Selectboard desires to suspend the collection of the Town’s impact fee for the period during which an analysis of the subject is ordinance is conducted; and
WHEREAS, the Selectboard seeks to confirm the designation of Chapter 90 of the Town of Hartford Code of Ordinances as a civil ordinance as provided by Section 1974a of Title 24, Vermont Statutes Annotated.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT Chapter 90 of the Town of Hartford Code of Ordinances is amended, first, by adding there to a new Section 90-12 to read as follows:
90-12 Suspension of Assessment.
(1) For the period commencing June 21, 2017, and extending indefinitely, assessment and imposition of the impact fee established in Section 90-1 hereof shall be suspended.
(2) During the period established in (1) above, the provisions of Section 90-9 and Section 90-11 shall be inoperative. In determining zoning permit eligibility, payment of applicable impact fees shall be deemed to have occurred
(3) Impact fees collected prior to the effective date of this amendment shall be maintained, accounted for and expended as provided in Section 90-4 and Section 90-5, and shall be subject to refund only as provided in Section 90-6.
(4) No impact fee liability shall accrue for continuing residential and non-residential construction undertaken and in progress after the effective date of this amendment. Impact fees previously paid for such construction shall not be subject to refund except as provided in Section 90-6.
And, second, by adding to Section 90-11 at the end thereof the following sentence:
90-11 Violation and penalties.
In addition the penalties and remedies set forth in this Section, the Town may enforce a violation of this ordinance to the fullest extent permitted for violations of civil ordinances.
Effective Date.
Adopted by the Selectboard of the Town of Hartford at a duly convened meeting thereof held on June 20, 2017. This amendment shall be effective sixty (60) days from the date of its adoption, subject to disapproval as provided by law.
The full text of the Ordinance may be viewed at the Town Manager’s Office and the Town Clerk’s Office at the Hartford Town Hall, 171 Bridge Street in WRJ, the Department of Public Safety at 812 VA Cutoff Road in WRJ, the Department of Public Works at 173 Airport Road in WRJ, the Bugbee Senior Center at 262 North Main St. in WRJ and on the Town’s Website at www.hartford-vt.org. Copies of the full text may be obtained in the Town Manager’s Office and the Parks & Recreation Department.
The amendment to the Ordinance will become effective on June 21, 2017. A petition for a vote on the question of disapproving the ordinance must be signed by not less than five per cent of the qualified voters of the municipality, and presented to the legislative body or the clerk of the municipality by August 3, 2017.
Please contact Eliza LeBrun, Executive Assistant at 802-295-9353 or elebrun@hartford-vt.org with any questions or comments.