Groton Open Space Association

Council Holds Hearing On Fees Proposal; Question Arises

Groton — A plan to raise fees for land-use applications and permits brought out a few residents to a public hearing Oct. 17, 2006, to support what they see as a way to increase resources for the town’s Planning Department, The Day Reported Oct. 18.

A story by Katie Warchut said that “Jim Furlong, of the Groton Open Space Association, a private, nonprofit group that monitors development in town, approved of giving the town the ability under the plan to hire its own independent experts, if necessary, for complex applications.”

The article continued:

The new fee structure would give land-use agencies better information and a better legal basis on which to make their decisions, he said.

“We have long favored giving communities the means to hire their own consultants,” Furlong said.

He said he only hopes the boards will make use of the tools available to them.

Timothy Bates, a local attorney who represents a range of municipal agencies, private developers and citizen groups, said the new fees are in line with other towns. They will also allow the town to deal with the large number of applications it receives, based on its population, he said.

Town officials may be inclined to increase fees even further, with the idea that “we all pay for the cost of development,” Bates said. But state laws do not permit charging developers for the impact of the project on the community, he said.

He added that increased costs usually do not simply come out of the developer’s pocket…[but are passed on].

The fee structure establishes a base fee of $400 for subdivision review, plus additional fees for each lot proposed, depending on the size of the development.

It also increases fees for the review of site plans, coastal site plans, special permits, inland wetlands, and zoning and subdivision amendment. It does not affect building and trade permits.

Director of Planning and Development Michael J. Murphy estimated the $15,000 the town collected in fees in 2005 would have brought in $55,000 under the new system.

The ordinance establishing the fees has not been changed since the late 1980s, though costs have increased. The change would allow the town to recoup those costs, Murphy said.

The ordinance amendment would also allow the Town Council to approve future changes in the fees by resolution rather than by ordinance, which requires a public hearing.

Town Manager Mark R. Oefinger said the town attorney is reviewing that provision before the council makes a decision.