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Commission seeks cleaner draft of fee ordinance to allow consultant cost recovery
Summary
Staff presented a draft zoning fee ordinance to formalize application fees and to authorize the commission to require applicant reimbursement for third‑party consultant costs on complex applications. Commissioners asked staff to produce a clearer draft and comparative fee data.
Staff presented a draft zoning fee ordinance intended to formalize the fees the commission has been charging and to add language authorizing payment for third‑party consultants (engineers, legal reviews) in complex cases. The planner said the draft would ask the board of selectmen to consider an enabling ordinance that would allow the planning commission and ZBA to require applicants to pay for consultant reviews when necessary.
Commissioners debated the existing enabling language in Ordinance 70‑01 and Building Department Ordinance 03‑03 and asked staff to clarify whether fee‑setting authority rests with the board of selectmen, requires town meeting action, or could be delegated to the planning and zoning commission. Staff agreed to refine the draft, include a comparative spreadsheet of neighboring towns' fees, and return with a cleaner ordinance and implementation options for the commission to review.
