§ 64-3. Residential development fees.

A. 

Imposition of fees.

(1) 

Within the Borough of Wharton, all residential developers, except for developers of the types of developments specifically exempted in Subsection B below and developers of developments that include affordable housing, shall pay a fee of 1.5% of the equalized assessed value for all new residential development, provided no increased density is permitted. Development fees shall also be imposed and collected when an additional dwelling unit is added to an existing residential structure; in such cases, the fee shall be calculated based on the increase in the equalized assessed value of the property due to the additional dwelling unit.

(2) 

When an increase in residential density is permitted pursuant to a "d" variance granted under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d(5), developers shall be required to pay a "bonus" development fee of 6.0% of the equalized assessed value for each additional unit that may be realized, except that this provision shall not be applicable to a development that will include affordable housing. If the zoning on a site has changed during the two-year period preceding the filing of such a variance application, the base density for the purposes of calculating the bonus development fee shall be the highest density permitted by right during the two-year period preceding the filing of the variance application. If a developer receives a density increase via a "d" variance that results in a density of more than six units per acre, the developer is subject to the Borough's Affordable Housing Overlay Ordinance and must provide for affordable housing and is not eligible to pay a developer fee.

B. 

Eligible exactions, ineligible exactions and exemptions for residential developments.

(1) 

Affordable housing developments and/or developments where the developer is providing for the construction of the requisite number of affordable housing units elsewhere within the municipality, and developments where the developer has made a payment in lieu of on-site construction of the required number of affordable units, if permitted by an ordinance approved by the Court as part of a judgment of compliance and repose, shall be exempt from the payment of development fees.

(2) 

Developments that have received preliminary or final site plan approval prior to the adoption of this article shall be exempt from the payment of development fees, unless the developer seeks a substantial change in the original approval. Where site plan approval is not applicable, the issuance of a zoning permit and/or construction permit shall be synonymous with preliminary or final site plan approval for the purpose of determining the right to an exemption. In all cases, the applicable fee percentage shall be determined based upon the Development Fee Ordinance in effect on the date that the construction permit is issued.

(3) 

Improvements or additions to existing one- and two-family dwellings on individual lots shall not be required to pay a development fee, but a development fee shall be charged for any new dwelling constructed as a replacement for a previously existing dwelling on the same lot that was or will be demolished, unless the owner resided in the previous dwelling for a period of one year or more prior to obtaining a demolition permit. Where a development fee is charged for a replacement dwelling, the development fee shall be calculated on the increase in the equalized assessed value of the new structure as compared to the previous structure.

(4) 

Homes replaced as a result of a natural disaster (such as a fire or flood) shall be exempt from the payment of a development fee.