The East Hampton Town Board approved a suite of fee increases last Thursday that will affect about 60 services provided through the architectural review board, the zoning board of appeals, and the planning board.
According to the resolution, the increase was due in part to the fact that it had been seven years since the last enhancements, and that costs to provide those services have increased in that time. The resolution also notes that under the town code, the town is “entitled to recover costs related to the assistance in the preparation or review of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (D.E.I.S.), including engineering and professional services and other items as provided in the code and the regulations set forth in the State Environmental Quality Review Act.”
The fee enhancements impact applications for special permits, site plan approvals, architectural and design reviews, and variances. For example, the fee for an agricultural overlay district approval application increased from $200 for a new residence, new accessory structure, or proposed changes to an existing building, to $350 plus $150 per 500 square feet of area proposed to be altered, changed, or improved.
The costs also increased for applications to the planning board for everything from minor site plans, which more than doubled from $400 to $900, to lot-line modifications, which jumped from $500 to $1,000 plus $800 per lot.
Fees for permits granted by the architectural review board more than doubled in some cases. One change of note: An application for changes to an existing fence, wall, or berm went from $200 to $700.
All fees for applications before the zoning board of appeals were increased and occasionally doubled. The fee for a certificate of occupancy inspection saw a nominal increase from $250 to $300, but an appeal at the Z.B.A. will now cost $800 as opposed to $400. Various natural resources special permits — for proposed structures, existing structures, and new erosion-control structures and docks, saw fees enhanced from 2016 numbers by between $150 and $200.