A municipality may apply for grants or loans to help pay consultant costs. It may also ask the developer of the CHIP Housing Development Site to cover the costs needed to:
- prepare or review housing and infrastructure projects;
- negotiate a CHIP Housing Infrastructure Agreement; and
- prepare a strong CHIP application.
If the developer is asked to pay these costs upfront, best practices include:
- explaining this process in the municipality’s CHIP policy;
- having a written funding agreement for each CHIP project; and
- requiring the developer to provide a cash deposit so the municipality can pay consultant bills as they come due. The developer should keep a minimum amount of money in the deposit while the CHIP plan and agreement are being reviewed and negotiated.
Municipalities should not rely only on consultants or attorneys hired by the developer. Those professionals work for the developer and may have conflicts of interest.