(A) Any fee payer who believes itself to be aggrieved by the calculation of the impact fee, may appeal from such calculation to the Town Impact Fee Review Board and the Town Impact Fee Review Board shall conduct a hearing with regard thereto. An appeal of the amount of an impact fee shall be made for the following reasons:
(1) A fact assumption used in determining the amount of the impact fee is incorrect; or
(2) The amount of the impact fee is greater than the amount allowed under I.C. 36-7-4-1320, I.C. 36-7-4-1321 and I.C. 36-7-4-1322.
(B) The fee payor must file a petition (“petitioner”) for a review of the amount of an impact fee with the town’s Impact Fee Review Board not later than 30 days after issuance of the structural building permit for the development for which the impact fee was assessed. The petition shall be filed with the Clerk-Treasurer and be accompanied by payment of a filing fee of $100. The petitioner shall receive a full refund of the filing fee if:
(1) The petitioner prevails;
(2) The amount of the impact fee or the reductions or credits against the fee is adjusted by the town, the Board or a court; and
(3) The body ordering the adjustment finds that the fee, reductions or credits were arbitrary or capricious.
(C) The town’s Impact Fee Review Board shall prescribe the form of the petition for review of an impact fee under division (B) above. The Review Board shall issue instructions for completion of the form. The form and the instructions must be clear, simple and understandable to a lay person. The form must require the petitioner to specify:
(1) A description of the new development on which the impact fee has been assessed;
(2) All facts related to the assessment of the impact fee; and
(3) The reasons the petitioner believes that the amount of the impact fee assessed is erroneous or is greater than the amount allowed by the fee limitations set forth in this series.
(D) The town’s Impact Fee Review Board shall prescribe a form for a response by the town to a petition for review under this section. The Review Board shall issue instructions for completion of the form. The form must require the town to indicate:
(1) Agreement or disagreement with each item indicated on the petition for review under division (C) above; and
(2) The reasons the town believes that the amount of the fee assessed is correct.
(E) Immediately upon the receipt of a timely filed petition on the form prescribed under division (C) above, the Town’s Impact Fee Review Board shall provide a copy of the petition to the town assessing the impact fee. The town shall not later than 30 days after the receipt of the petition provide to the Review Board a completed response to the petition on the form prescribed under division (D) above. The Review Board shall immediately forward a copy of the response form to the petitioner.
(F) An Impact Fee Review Board shall:
(1) Review the petition and the response submitted under this section; and
(2) Determine the appropriate amount of the impact fee not later than 30 days after submission of both petitions.
(G) A petitioner aggrieved by a final determination of an Impact Fee Review Board may appeal to the Circuit or Superior Court of the county in which the unit is located and is entitled to a trial de novo. If the assessment of a fee is vacated by judgment of the court, the assessment of the impact fee shall be remanded to the Review Board for correction of the impact fee assessment and further proceedings in accordance with law.
(H) If a petition for a review or an appeal of an impact fee assessment is pending, the impact fee is not due and payable until after the petition or appeal is finally adjudicated and the amount of the fee is determined.
(I) The town shall not deny the issuance of a structural building permit on the basis that the impact fee has not been paid, or, condition issuance of the permit on the payment of the impact fee. If the impact fee totals $1,000 or less, the town may require the fee payer to pay the impact fee or initiate an appeal under this section before the structural building permit is issued.
(Ord. 30-2022, passed 6-27-2022)