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Township committee proposes $1,000 escrow fee for stormwater plan review on new homes
Summary
Woodland committee introduced a draft ordinance requiring contractors for new single‑family homes to pay a $1,000 escrow for third‑party stormwater plan review and inspections under new DEP requirements; the fee drew concern about impacts to low‑income housing.
The Chair introduced a draft ordinance at the Jan. 22 Woodland township workshop that would require contractors building new single‑family dwellings to post an engineering escrow to cover third‑party stormwater plan review and inspections.
The Chair said the change responds to new stormwater requirements from the state Department of Environmental Protection and explained the township’s employees do not hold the required engineering certification. "They felt 1000 dollar escrow fee would cover the base," the Chair said, referring to the township’s consultant estimate.
A staff member described the intended workflow: the design engineer submits plans for consultant review; Pennoni would verify compliance, issue a letter stating whether the plan meets township requirements, and perform on‑site as‑built inspections after installation. The staff member added that the plan must be inspected and certified before the township issues a final certificate of occupancy.
A committee member clarified the proposed fee scale, saying, "If it's single family, it's 1000. If it's 2‑unit plans, it's 2,000." The Chair raised affordability concerns, saying some contractors and homeowners are unhappy and noting that the additional inspection costs could affect the feasibility of low‑income housing: "Now you're putting a $40,000 stormwater plan on. You gotta charge the another thousand for these inspections. It's no longer a low income affordable home."
The Chair said the ordinance is on the regular meeting agenda for introduction and that the public hearing would be scheduled at the February meeting. The proposal was presented as a mechanism to ensure required third‑party engineering verification without the township itself performing the certified engineering work.
Next steps: committee members were asked to review the draft ordinance ahead of a February workshop and the ordinance will be available for public hearing at the regular meeting in February.
