§ 18-68. Special Assessment Procedure.

(a)

Property owners requesting road improvement by way of a special assessment must petition the County. Petitions favorable to the assessment must be received from at least fifty-five percent (55%) of the abutting property owners owning at least fifty-five [percent] (55%) of the front footage on the abutting road. Verification will be accomplished by comparing the petitions with the existing tax rolls. Only roads with at least fifty (50) feet of right-of-way and that directly connect with a paved County maintained Public Road shall be considered.

(b)

The County Manager or designee will estimate the overall cost to improve the road to current county paved road standards. Only roads that are constructed to current county paved road standards shall be considered for acceptance in the county maintenance system. The cost shall include the construction of a driveway where one exists or existed between the road edge and the right-of-way line. Paved connections on vacant parcels of land shall not be considered.

(c)

After receipt and verification of the results of the petition process, the County Manager or designee will present the project, estimated project cost, and estimated assessments to the board of county commissioners for the board's consideration. Assessments will be based on the front footage of the abutting property, unless one of the following apply:

(1)

For corner lots when both sides are being improved and both roads are estimated at the same cost, the assessed footage shall be determined by adding the measurement of both sides of the lot and dividing by two.

(2)

For corner lots when both sides are being improved and both roads are estimated at a different cost, the assessed footage for each side of the lot shall be determined by the measurement of one-half of each side.

(3)

For corner lots when one side is being improved, the assessed footage shall be determined by the measurement of the side fronting the road to be improved. If the other road is later improved through the special assessment program, this lot shall be exempt from the additional assessment.

(4)

For corner lots fronting an existing county maintained road, the assessed footage shall be determined by the measurement of the short side of the lot.

(5)

For cul-de-sac lots, the assessed footage shall be determined by adding the measurement of the front and rear property lines and dividing by two.

(6)

For utility improvements projects, each abutting property owner shall equitably share in the assessment by dividing the total project cost by the number of affected lots.

(d)

Funding participation by the board of county commissioners may be based on the following:

(1)

For paved Non-County Maintained Roads not meeting current County standards, the County will fund thirty-three percent (33%) of the total cost with the abutting property owners paying the remaining sixty-seven percent (67%).

(2)

For unpaved neighborhood collector roads, the County will fund fifty [percent] (50%) of the total cost with the abutting property owners paying the remaining fifty percent (50%).

(3)

For unpaved local roads, the County will fund thirty-three percent (33%) of the total cost with the abutting property owners paying the remaining sixty-seven percent (67%).

(4)

For utility improvements projects, the abutting property owners shall bear the full cost of the project.

(Ord. No. 2017-47, § 3, 10-10-17)

Editor's note

Ord. No. 2017-47, § 3, adopted October 10, 2017, repealed § 18-68, in its entirety, and enacted a new § 18-68 to read as set out herein. Former § 18-68 was titled "Time for payment," and was derived from Ord. No. 2015-52, § 2, adopted December 15, 2015.