The requirements of this section shall apply to all applications submitted under the provisions of this title, including applications for variances and zoning amendments.
A. Optional Prefiling Conference:
1. Prior to filing an application, an applicant may request a prefiling conference with the Planning and Zoning commission. An application for the conference, together with the filing fee, shall be submitted to the zoning administrator.
2. At the conference, the applicant may outline his proposed project and submit preliminary information such as a concept plan. The Planning and Zoning commission shall advise the applicant concerning in what respects his proposal conforms to applicable village plans and ordinances and to desired standards of design.
B. Disclosure Of Interest:
1. The party signing the application shall be considered the applicant.
2. An applicant must be the fee owner, trustee, beneficiary, contract purchaser, lessee, or option holder of the affected property or his or her agent or nominee.
a. Applicant Not Fee Owner: If the applicant is not the fee owner of the affected property, the application shall disclose the full names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all owners.
In addition, an affidavit of the fee owner or owners shall be filed with the application stating that the applicant has authority to make the application.
b. Applicant Or Fee Owner Is Corporation: If either the applicant or the fee owner is a corporation, the application shall disclose the names and addresses of the corporation's officers, directors, registered agents, and those shareholders owning in excess of five percent (5%) of the outstanding stock or interest in the corporation.
c. Applicant Is Trustee: If the applicant is a trustee, the full name, address, telephone number, and extent of interest of each beneficiary must be disclosed in the application.
d. Applicant Is Beneficiary, Agent Or Nominee: If the applicant is a beneficiary, agent, or nominee, the application must disclose the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of those parties on whose behalf he or she is acting.
e. Applicant Is Option Holder Or Contract Purchaser: If the applicant is an option holder or contract purchaser, a valid (unexpired, fully executed, enforceable), noncontingent (except for zoning and financing approval) contract or option to purchase the premises for which the application is being filed shall be submitted.
3. Disclosure of present ownership interests shall be accompanied by a certified statement of proposed ownership of all land.
C. Public Notice:
1. An applicant for any zoning action that requires a public hearing must provide notice of such hearing to owners of surrounding property.
2. The required notice shall consist of the following actions:
a. Sign Display:
(1) The applicant shall post a sign in the front yard of the affected property, facing a public street and no further than thirty feet (30') therefrom. In the case where the Village is the applicant and the property owner does not consent to the erection of the sign, the sign shall be posted on public property adjacent to the property.
(2) The sign shall state "Notice of Public Hearing" and "contact information for the zoning action requested".
(3) The sign shall be erected no less than fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the scheduled public hearing and remain continuously in place until the public hearing is concluded but no more than ten (10) days thereafter.
b. Written Notification:
(1) The applicant shall also provide written notice of the public hearing to the owners of record of each parcel of real estate within two hundred fifty feet (250') in all directions from the boundaries of the property affected by the application.
(2) All public rights-of-way shall be excluded in calculating the two hundred fifty foot (250') notice area.
(3) The owners of record, for this purpose, shall be considered those appearing on the records of the County Recorder of Deeds or those who paid Property Taxes for the most recent year according to the records of the Township Assessor.
(4) The written notice shall be delivered not more than thirty (30) nor less than fifteen (15) days prior to the scheduled date of the public hearing.
(5) The written notice shall be substantially in the form of notice provided by the Village Clerk. It shall contain:
(A) The name and address of the applicant.
(B) The street address and legal description of the property affected by the application.
(C) The type of zoning action requested.
(D) The date, time, and location of the public hearing thereupon.
(6) The notice shall be delivered in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested. In either case, the signatures of those receiving the notice, in the form of postal return receipts or otherwise, shall be obtained and filed with the Zoning Administrator prior to the public hearing.
(7) In addition, the applicant shall file an affidavit stating that he or she has complied with all notice requirements, together with a copy of the written notice sent and a list of the names and addresses of all property owners within the two hundred fifty foot (250') notice area.
c. Newspaper Publication: The Zoning Administrator shall publish a notice of the public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the Village at least fifteen (15) days but no more than thirty (30) days before the scheduled date of the hearing.
D. Fees:
1. Fee Established; Liability For Fee; Lien:
a. Every application filed pursuant to this title shall be subject to a nonrefundable application and filing fee in the amount established from time to time by the village board, plus the actual cost, as hereinafter defined, incurred by the village in processing such application.
b. The owner of the property which is the subject of the application and, if different, the applicant, shall be jointly and severally liable for the payment of said fee. By signing the application, owner shall be deemed to have agreed to pay such fee and to consent to the filing and foreclosure of a lien on the subject property to ensure collection of any such fee, plus the costs of collection, which has not been paid within thirty (30) days following the mailing of a written demand for such payment to the owner at the address shown on the application. Any lien filed pursuant to this subsection D1b may be foreclosed in the manner provided by statute for mortgages or mechanics' liens.
2. Recoverable Costs: For purposes of calculating the fee due pursuant to subsection D1 of this section, the actual costs incurred by the village in processing an application shall be deemed to consist of the following items of direct and indirect expense:
a. Legal publication (direct cost).
b. Recording secretarial services (direct cost).
c. Court reporter (direct cost).
d. Administrative preparation and review (hourly salary times a multiplier to be established from time to time by the zoning administrator at a level sufficient to recover 100 percent of the direct and indirect cost of such service).
e. Document preparation and review (hourly salary times a multiplier to be established from time to time by the zoning administrator at a level sufficient to recover 100 percent of the direct and indirect cost of such service).
f. Professional and technical consultant services (direct cost).
g. Legal review, consultation and advice (direct cost).
h. Copy reproduction (direct cost).
i. Document recordation (direct cost).
3. Payment Of Fee And Escrow:
a. Initial Payment And Escrow: Every application filed pursuant to this title shall be accompanied by the required fee, plus an additional amount for recoverable costs as provided in subsection D2 of this section, as fixed from time to time by administrative order of the zoning administrator, to be deposited in an application fee escrow. No interest shall be payable on any such escrow.
b. Charges Against Escrow: From the date of filing of any application pursuant to this title, the village shall maintain an accurate record of the actual costs, as hereinabove defined, of processing such application. The zoning administrator shall, from time to time, draw funds from the escrow account established for such application to pay such costs and shall transfer such funds to the appropriate village accounts. The administrator shall maintain an accurate record of all such drawings.
c. Additional Escrow Deposits: Should the zoning administrator, at any time, determine that the escrow account established in connection with any application is, or is likely to become, insufficient to pay the actual costs of processing such application, the administrator shall inform the applicant of that fact and demand an additional deposit in an amount deemed by him to be sufficient to cover foreseeable additional costs. Unless and until such additional amount is deposited by the applicant, the zoning administrator may direct that processing of the application shall be suspended or terminated.
d. Final Settlement:
(1) As soon as reasonably feasible following final action on an application, the zoning administrator shall cause a final accounting to be made of the escrow deposits made in connection with such application and the actual cost of processing such application and shall make a final charge of such costs against such escrow deposits. A copy of the accounting shall be provided to the owner and the applicant.
(2) If the amount in the escrow account is insufficient to pay the total actual costs, a written demand for payment of the balance due shall be mailed to the owner and the applicant. If unused balance remains in the escrow account after paying the total actual costs, it shall be returned to the applicant.
4. Condition Of All Applications, Approvals And Permits; Time Periods:
a. No application filed pursuant to this title shall be considered complete unless and until all fees and deposits due pursuant to this subsection have been paid. Every approval granted and every permit issued pursuant to this title shall, whether or not expressly so conditioned, be deemed to be conditioned upon payment of fees as required by this subsection.
b. Where this title provides that the passage of time without decision or action shall be deemed an approval or a recommendation for approval, time periods shall not be tolled during any period of nonpayment, but shall otherwise continue to run.
c. The failure to fully pay any such fee or deposit when due shall be grounds for refusing to process an application and for denying or revoking any permit or approval sought or issued with respect to the land or development to which the unpaid fee or deposit relates.
5. Exemptions: The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to, and no fee shall be required of, any public body or agency deriving the majority of its revenues from taxes levied within the village. (Ord. 99-02, 1-7-1999; amd. 2011 Code; Ord. 2014-62, 10-16-2014; Ord. 2018-99, 12-13-2018; Ord. 2023-52, 9-7-2023)