Affordable Housing are dwelling units available at a cost of no more than 30% of gross household income to households at or below 80% of the county median income as reported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including units listed under MGL c. 40B and the state's Local Initiative Program (LIP).***
Approved road means an arterial road, collector road, freeway, or expressway which, if constructed in whole or in part by a nongovernmental entity, or the right-of-way which is dedicated to the town or some other government approved by the town, may entitle the person constructing the road or dedicating the right-of-way to a roads impact fee credit equal to the value of the land dedicated and/or the cost of construction.
Building official means that officer who is so defined in the [TOWN] Construction Code. Within any participating municipality, building official means that person whose duties and authority are similar to that of the county's building official, regardless of the title given such person.
Building permit means an official document of certification issued by the building official which authorizes the construction, alteration, enlargement, conversion, reconstruction, remodeling, rehabilitation, erection, demolition, moving or repair of a building or structure. In the case of a change in use or occupancy of an existing building or structure, the term shall specifically include Certificates of Occupancy and Occupancy Permits, as those terms are defined by county bylaw. The terms building permit and certificate of occupancy permit also mean those municipal permits which are equivalent to the county permits, regardless of the names by which they are called within a municipality.
A capital improvement component, element, or program is a component of a comprehensive plan, which sets out the need for public facility capital improvements, the cost of such improvements, and proposed funding sources. A capital improvement component, element or program must cover at least a five-year period.*
Capital Facilities are public facilities and services necessary to support development, including but not limited to roads, water, sewers, waste disposal, affordable housing, schools, police and fire protection facilities.**
Capital improvements for transportation means transportation planning, preliminary engineering, engineering design studies, land surveys, right-of-way acquisition, engineering, permitting and construction of all the necessary features for any road construction project including, but not limited to:
Credit means the present value of past, present, or future payments, or a portion thereof, made by new developments toward the cost of existing or future related capital improvements (i.e. property tax, gasoline tax, or the contribution, payment, development or dedication of land or the payment of other consideration) accepted and received by the municipality and relating to funding the cost of relevant capital improvements.****
Development is any of the following undertaken by any person: any building, construction, renovation, mining, extraction, dredging, filling, excavation, or drilling activity or operation; any material change in the use or appearance of any structure or in the land itself; the division of land into parcels; any change in the intensity of use of land, such as an increase in the number of dwelling units in a structure or a change to a commercial or industrial use from a less intensive use; any activity which alters a shore, beach, seacoast, river, stream, lake, pond, canal, marsh, dune area, woodland, wetland, endangered species habitat, aquifer, or other resource area, including coastal construction or other activity in Barnstable county within the jurisdictional limits of Barnstable county; demolition of a structure; the clearing of land as an adjunct of construction; or the deposit of refuse, solid or liquid waste or fill on a parcel of land or in any water area.**
Development agreement is a contract entered into between the Commission and or a unit of a municipality or municipalities and a holder of property development rights, the principal purpose of which is to negotiate and to establish the development regulations that will apply to the subject property during the term of the agreement and to establish the conditions to which the development will be subject including, without limitation, a schedule of impact fees.**
Development bylaw is any bylaw, rule or regulation adopted by a municipality or municipal agency for the control or regulation of activities related to development affecting any buildings, land, water area or other resources within the boundaries of said municipality.**
Development permit is any permit, license, authority, order, approval, certificate, endorsement, or permission required from a municipal agency prior to the commencement or completion of any development, but not including any municipal dump permit issued to a household.**
Discount rate shall mean that interest rate, expressed in terms of percentage per annum, which is utilized to adjust past or future financial or monetary payments to present value.*
Expansion of the capacity of a road means all road and intersection capacity enhancements and includes but is not limited to extensions, widening intersection improvements, upgrading signalization, and improving pavement conditions.
Fee payer is an applicant for a development permit who is required to pay an impact fee as specified in Section 6 of this bylaw.****
Growth/Activity Centers are existing and/or new areas designated by the towns through Local Comprehensive Plans and certified by the Cape Cod Commission as suitable locations for new growth and redevelopment. There are three general categories of growth/activity centers:
Impact Fee Administrator may be the Town Administrator, Planning Board, Town Planner or other person or entity as specified by the town.
Impact fees are a contribution paid by a person undertaking a development to a municipality or municipalities pursuant to the provisions of Section 15 of the Cape Cod Commission Act, designed to offset the impacts of a development. Impact fees may include, but are not limited to, creation or improvement of streets, sewers, water supplies, parks, schools, affordable housing and similar capital facilities.**
Infill is the development of new housing, commercial or other buildings on scattered vacant or underutilized sites within existing substantially built-up areas.***
Infrastructure is facilities and services needed to sustain residential, commercial and industrial development including, but not limited to water supply and distribution facilities, sewage collection and treatment facilities, streets and roads, communications, energy, and public facilities such as schools and fire stations.***
Land development activity generating traffic means any change in land use, or any construction of buildings or structures, or any change in the use of any building or structure that attracts or produces vehicular trips.
Levels of Service (LOS) are well-established planning and engineering standards by which the provision of services is determined and evaluated.
Level of service for transportation systems means a qualitative measure that represents the collective factors of speed, travel time, traffic interruption, freedom to maneuver, safety, driving comfort and convenience, and operating costs provided by a highway facility under a particular volume condition. Levels of service vary from A to F. Level of service D, for example, represents high-density, but stable, flow. Speed and freedom to maneuver are severely restricted, and the driver or pedestrian experiences a generally poor level of comfort and convenience. Small increases in traffic flow will generally cause operational problems at this level.
Local Comprehensive Plan is the plan which may be prepared or adopted by a local planning committee with the consultation and assistance of the commission staff and adopted by a town meeting, as described in Section 9 of the Cape Cod Commission Act.**
Local government means any county, municipality, or any special governmental district having land use control powers.*
Mitigation means appropriate measures which, at a minimum, offset any adverse impacts of a proposed development.***
Municipal agency is any municipal agency, board, commission, department, office, or official that has authority to approve or grant a development permit.**
Offset system whereby payment of an impact fee is provided through a public or private source other than the project proponent.****
Off-site improvements means land dedications or physical improvements provided by a developer for public facilities outside of the boundaries of the new development to be used for purposes other than safe and adequate service to the particular development.*
On-site improvements means land dedications or physical improvements provided by a developer for public facilities located within the boundaries of the new development to be used for purposes of safe and adequate service to the particular development.*
Open Space is land set aside and permanently restricted for conservation, agriculture or recreation purposes by a municipality, nonprofit conservation organization or land trust, homeowners association, or person. Open Space may include woodlands, pasture, landscaped yards, gardens or play areas, golf courses, walking and riding trails, and similar areas as appropriate to the site, but shall not include structures such as tennis courts, buildings, swimming pools or other impervious areas. Open Space may be open for public use or access to such areas may be restricted.***
Participating municipality means any municipality which enters into an interlocal agreement with [TOWN] to collect within the municipality the impact fees imposed by this bylaw.
Site-related improvements means capital improvements and right-of-way dedications for direct access improvements to the development in question. Direct access improvements include but are not limited to the following:
(See also the definition of "On-site improvements".)
Present value means the current value of past, present, or future payments which are adjusted to a base period by a discount rate.*
Proportionate share is that share, or portion, of total public facility capital improvement costs reasonably attributable to new development, minus any credits or off-sets for construction and/or dedication of capital improvements, past or future payments for capital improvement costs made or reasonably anticipated to be made in the future by new development in the form of user fees, debt service payments, taxes or other payments toward capital improvement costs. Credits for past or future payments toward capital improvement costs shall be adjusted to present value in order to make fair comparisons of monetary amounts paid or received at different times.*
Public facilities capital improvement costs shall include, but not be limited to, capital improvement costs associated with the construction of new, expanded, or otherwise enhanced publicly owned facilities and, the equipment, land acquisition, land improvement, design and engineering costs related thereto. The costs shall not include routine and periodic maintenance expenditures or personnel, training, or other operating costs.*
Reasonable benefit means a benefit received from the provision of a public facility capital improvement which is greater than that to be received by the general public within the jurisdiction imposing impact fees. The receipt of an incidental benefit by other developments shall not be construed as denying a "reasonable benefit" to new development.*
Redevelopment is the reconstruction, re-use or change in use of any developed property including, but not limited to, the following: any increase in the intensity of use of already developed land, such as an increase in the number of dwelling units in a structure or change to a commercial or industrial use from a less intensive use; enlargement of a structure; additions to useable interior floor area within residential, commercial and industrial buildings; and the conversion of a seasonal use or dwelling to year-round use.***
Regional Facilities are publicly or privately owned facilities and services used by residents of more than one town including but not limited to streets, schools, parks, recreational facilities, water supplies, waste disposal facilities, social services, health care facilities, transportation facilities and emergency services.***
*Nicholas, James C., Arthur C. Nelson and Julian C. Juergensmeyer. A Practitioner's Guide to Development Impact Fees, Planners Press, Washington, D.C., 1991.
** Cape Cod Commission Act, Section 2.
***Cape Cod Commission Regional Policy Plan for Barnstable County, 1996.
**** Code of Cape Cod Commission Regulations of General Application, Chapter F, Barnstable County Ordinance 90-12, as amended.