It is the purpose of this ordinance to provide for the levying of unit
assessments upon land and/or buildings in the Town of North Haven which are
benefited by the extension of water mains, which may be funded, in part, by
the Town of North Haven, as determined by resolution of the North Haven Town
Meeting. Said assessments shall include areas within the Town of North Haven
used for industrial or commercial purposes and partly for industrial or commercial
purposes and partly for residential purposes or into residential areas or
into areas zoned for residential use, pursuant to the provisions of Section
7-137c of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended. When appropriating
such funds, the procedures herein set forth shall be followed.
Before the North Haven Town Meeting shall appropriate any funds to extend
or cause to be extended any such mains, at least 10 days' written notice
of the proposed extension shall be given by mail to each known owner or owners
of any land or buildings upon which the cost of such water mains may be assessed
and of the time and place when objections to such extension shall be heard.
Notice shall also be published in a newspaper with a circulation within the
Town of North Haven not less than 10 days prior to such meeting. Such notice
shall generally outline the scope of the construction project and shall inform
such property owner or owners that he or they will be required to make payment
to the Town of North Haven for his or their equitable share of the cost of
such water main extension and that such owner or owners will have to pay the
South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority for connection to or use
of such water mains.
Any owner or owners of lands or buildings which abut such mains shall
reimburse the Town of North Haven his or their proportionate share as determined
by the North Haven Water Pollution Control Authority, except that, where the
Town of North Haven and the Commissioner of Environmental Protection concur
that the need for such extension is in response to a community pollution problem
as defined by Section 22a-423 of the Connecticut General Statutes, the Town
of North Haven may waive such reimbursement.
All costs shall be proportioned in such a way as to ultimately leave
the Town of North Haven free of any cost of the extension of the water main
and expenses incidental thereto, except where any portion of such water service
is to be used for a municipal purpose, in which instance the municipality
shall contribute a fair portion of the expense representing such municipal
share. In the case of land zoned for other than commercial or industrial purposes
or classified as farmland, forest land or open space land on the last completed
grand list of the Town of North Haven, pursuant to the provisions of Sections
12-107a to 12-107e of the Connecticut General Statutes, inclusive, which exceeds
by more than 100% the size of the smallest lot permitted in the lowest density
residential zone allowed under the Town of North Haven Zoning Regulations,
such assessment shall be deferred until such time as excess land shall be
built upon or a building permit is issued or until approval of a subdivision
plan of such excess property by the Planning and Zoning Commission, whichever
event occurs first. The Town of North Haven shall place a caveat on the land
records in each instance where an assessment is deferred.
Subject to reasonable allowances by the North Haven Water Pollution
Control Authority, per unit charges will be the quotient derived by dividing
the total cost to be recovered by the total number of units abutting such
a main and subject to this ordinance. The Town of North Haven will be left
free from any cost of the extension of the water main, unless provided otherwise
by this ordinance.
The owner of real property subject to such a water main assessment shall
be liable for and shall be billed for payment of such assessment. Such assessment,
together with interest thereon, as defined by the Connecticut General Statutes,
shall constitute a lien upon the property being assessed, and such lien may
be foreclosed and such charges may be collected in the manner provided in
Section 7-137d of the Connecticut General Statutes and such other statutes
which are applicable.
The water main assessment shall be collected by the Tax Collector of
the Town of North Haven. As part of such resolution establishing a specific
water pipe extension assessment, the Town Meeting shall include an appropriate
provision regarding the payment and due date of such assessment and may, if
it so desires, provide for installment payments of such assessments.
The invalidity of any portion of this ordinance shall not affect the
remainder thereof.
This ordinance may be amended by the North Haven Town Meeting from time
to time and at any time as it deems necessary, subject to the Charter of the
Town of North Haven, its ordinances and the statutes of the State of Connecticut.