(A) Requirements. Upon the recommendation of the Planning Commission as provided in division (C) below, the governing body may require any applicant applying for a permit or conditional use permit for any development or project set forth in this chapter, including, but not limited to, any application for a development, or any project that would require an amendment to the county’s General Plan, to enter into a written agreement with the county wherein the applicant agrees to pay for all reasonable consulting fees of one or more consultants retained by the county and determined to be proper and necessary in the interests of the health, safety and welfare of the people of the county and in light of the limited resources available to the county. The consultants shall be used to review and report on any aspect of an application or project requirement of this chapter for a permit or a conditional use permit, including an application for a development. Consultants may include, but are limited to, planners and engineers approved by the Planning Commission. Applicants will not be charged in excess of standard industry fees. Total fees charged to applicants may be up to, but shall not exceed, 5% of the total fair market value of the proposed project.
(B) Agreement; financial accounting. The agreement will outline that a deposit of funds by the applicant, in an amount to be determined by the Planning Commission after giving due consideration to the nature and scope of the development or project and the financial ability of the applicant, will be submitted to the County Treasurer, to be held in a trust. The county will then retain the necessary and recommended consultants and pay them directly from this account. The Planning Commission will review each invoice submitted by a consultant for work completed and for reasonableness of fees. Each invoice duly approved by the Planning Commission shall be submitted to the County Treasurer for payment. The County Treasurer will monitor and make all disbursements from this account based on invoices approved by the Planning Commission. Upon written request, the County Treasurer shall provide the applicant with an accounting of funds dispersed under this account. The agreement will further describe the process for the deposit of additional funds by the applicant when the account has been nearly depleted. If additional funds are not deposited, the county reserves the right to stop all work on the review and/or approval of the application upon written notice to the applicant, or as otherwise specified in the agreement. The agreement will state that the funds may only be used to review the applicant’s development or project, and that no funds will be returned to the applicant, except those remaining after all approved invoices have been paid.
(C) Criteria. The Planning Commission will consider the following criteria and make appropriate findings when determining whether to recommend for approval by the governing body the services of one or more independent consultants:
(1) The nature, scope, duration and technical complexities of the development or project;
(2) The overall impact the development or project will have to the health, safety and welfare of the county, including, but not limited to, environmental impact, fiscal impact, social, educational or historical impact, demand impact on county services, future growth impact and the like; and
(3) The limited resources of the county, including, but not limited to, personnel, expertise and/or fiscal resources.
(Prior Code, § 8-3-7) (Ord. 11-16, passed 12-6-2011)