(a) Appropriations may be made by any municipality to finance the work of planning commissions, regional planning commissions, administrative officers, appropriate municipal panels, and other officials in the preparation, adoption, administration, and enforcement of development plans and supporting plans, bylaws, capital budgets and programs, and other regulatory and nonregulatory efforts to implement the municipal plan, and to support or oppose, upon appeal to the courts, decisions of an appropriate municipal panel. For these same purposes, any municipality may accept gifts and grants of money and services from private sources and from the State and federal governments.

(b) The legislative body may prescribe reasonable fees to be charged with respect to the administration of bylaws and for the administration of development review. These fees may include the cost of posting and publishing notices and holding public hearings and the cost of conducting periodic inspections during the installation of public improvements. These fees may be required to be payable by the applicant upon submission of the application or prior to issuance of permits or certificates of occupancy.

(c) The legislative body may set reasonable fees for filing of notices of appeal and for other acts as it deems proper, the payment of which shall be a condition to the validity of the filing or act under this chapter.

(d) The legislative body may establish procedures and standards for requiring an applicant to pay for reasonable costs of an independent technical review of the application. (Added 2003, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 99.)