1. If within 20 days from the date of billing of a disputed fee or costs to the service the township engineer, consultant or other professionals under § 22-604 or hereof, the Township and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of the expenses or fees which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant and the municipality shall, jointly, by mutual agreement, appoint another professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to review the said expenses and make a determination as to the amount thereof which is reasonable and necessary.
2. The professional engineer so appointed shall hear such evidence and review such documentation as a professional engineer in his or her sole opinion deems necessary and render a decision within 50 days of the billing date. The applicant shall be required to pay the entire amount determined in the decision immediately.
3. In the event the Township and the applicant cannot agree upon the professional engineer to be appointed within 20 days of the billing date, then upon application of either party, the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County shall appoint such engineer, who, in that case, shall be neither the Township engineer nor any professional engineer who has been retained by, or performed services for, the municipality or the applicant within the proceeding 5 years.
4. The fee for the appointed professional engineer for determining the reasonable and necessary expenses shall be paid by the applicant if the amount of payment required in the decision is equal to or greater than the original bill. If the amount of payment required in the decision is less than the original bill by $1,000 or more, the Township shall pay the fee of the professional engineer.
5. Following the decision of the appointed professional engineer, the Township shall grant no further approvals either preliminary or final nor shall any approved plans be signed by the Township nor any building permits granted with respect to the development nor occupancy permits granted with regard to buildings constructed in accordance with any approved plans until the amount as determined by the appointed professional engineer shall be paid in full.
(Ord. 270, 10/16/1991, § 10)
*Ord. 270 designated the Section be added to Chapter 27.