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Sec. 1. - Sewer impact fee.#
The town council of the town of West Warwick may enact by ordinances a sewer impact fee. Such a fee shall be levied for the cost of any project or projects for the construction, completion, extension, enlargement, or improvement of the sewage disposal system. The fee shall be levied upon the owners of property which abut that portion of any street or highway in or along which any sewer constituting any portion of such project or projects may be located, or which otherwise may benefit in any manner from any such project or projects.
The town council may provide for such an impact fee based upon a fixed rate, a computation by building square footage or a combination of both methods. Further, the town council may provide for the calculation of the fee for residential properties and commercial/industrial properties by using different methods of [or] formulas, provided that the rate is equitable.
The town council may provide for the payment of such fee in its entirety when levied or in installments. In the event that the town council provides for installment payments, it can require payment in full of the impact fee when a property subject to such fee is sold or otherwise alienated. Such a requirement could exempt involuntary alienations such as by death of a joint property owner or probate of a sole owner's interest.
The town council may provide for the conversion of any existing sewer assessment levied by existing special acts and/or ordinance to an impact fee. Such conversion may provide for credits to any property owner for principal payments made toward any existing assessment.
The town council shall not provide for an impact fee for any property owner who has paid or is paying an existing sewer assessment for land and buildings.
(Laws 1990, ch. 226, § 1)
Sec. 2. - Improvement impact fee.#
The town council of the town of West Warwick may enact by ordinance an improvement impact fee. Such a fee may be based upon the method of payment described in section 1 for additions to dwellings and buildings subject to an impact fee. Such a fee could also be levied for the completion of dwellings and other buildings and other improvements.
(Laws 1990, ch. 226, § 2)
Sec. 3. - Capital improvement fee.#
The town council of the town of West Warwick may provide by ordinance for a capital improvement fee. Such a fee may be levied upon all property owners having properties that utilize the existing sewer system or otherwise benefit from the existing sewer system.
The town council may levy such a fee based upon a fixed rate, a computation by building square footage or a combination of both methods. Such a fee could be levied for the purpose of defraying costs and expenses incurred for capital improvements to the sewer system.
Such a fee would be payable in a manner stated in section 1.
(Laws 1990, ch. 226, § 3)
Sec. 4. - Levy; billing; collection.#
In levying any of the fees described in sections 1, 2 and 3, the town council shall provide that the tax collector shall name the owners subject to any fee, describe the property subject to such fee and state the amount of the fee. No error or omission in the name or description shall invalidate the levying of any fee, as long as either the owner or property is substantially identified.
Any such fee may bear interest as determined by the town council and shall constitute a lien upon the respective properties on a parity with the lien for town taxes until paid in full. The collector of taxes shall have the same rights to enforce such liens against the subject properties and to collect such fees and interest from the owners as he has for town taxes.
Property owners shall be billed for such fees in a manner as set forth by the town council. Any person aggrieved by any such fee may within three (3) months of the mailing of such bill file a petition for relief pursuant to R.I.G.L. 44-5-26 [G.L. 1956, § 44-5-26]. The filing of such a petition shall not relieve the property from the lien provided for, but any final judgment reducing a fee shall reduce the amount due accordingly. The remedy provided herein shall be exclusive and no action or proceeding questioning the validity of any such assessment shall be begun after the expiration of said ninety (90)-day period.
The town council shall be authorized to correct the levying of any fee and make any necessary abatements and to replace any invalid fee with a valid one.
The town council may provide for the apportionment of any fee in the case of the subdivision of a property subject to any such fee.
(Laws 1990, ch. 226, § 4)