CHAPTER 6 MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS

The City Council shall have the power to make or cause to be made any one or more or a combination of the following improvements:

establish grades and lay out, establish, open, extend and widen any street, sidewalk, alley or off-street parking facility;

improve, repair, light, grade, pave, repave, curb, gutter, sewer, drain, park and beautify any street, sidewalk, alley, or off-street parking facility;

construct, reconstruct, extend, maintain or repair bridges, sidewalks, crosswalks, driveways, culverts, sewers, storm sewers, drains, flood barriers and channels;

construct, reconstruct, extend, maintain or repair lines, facilities and equipment (other than generating equipment) for street lighting purposes or for the expansion or improvement of a previously established municipally-owned electrical distribution system to a district within the boundaries of the City;

(e)

plant or cause to be planted, set out, cultivate, and maintain lawns, shade trees or other landscaping;

(f)

cover, fence, safeguard, or enclose reservoirs, canals, ditches and water courses; and

construct, reconstruct, extend, maintain and repair waterworks, reservoirs, canals, ditches, pipes, mains, hydrants, and other water facilities for the purpose of supplying water for domestic and irrigation purposes or either, regulating, controlling or distributing water for domestic or irrigation purposes, and regulating and controlling water and water courses leading into the City;

(g)

acquire, construct, reconstruct, extend, maintain or repair parking lots or other facilities for the parking of vehicles off streets;

(h)

acquire, construct, reconstruct, extend, maintain or repair any of the improvements authorized in this Section for use in connection with an industrial or research park, except that this Chapter does not authorize the use of City funds to pay the cost of buildings or structures used for industry or research;

acquire, construct, reconstruct, extend, maintain or repair parks and other recreational facilities and libraries;

(j)

remove any non-conforming, existing improvements in the areas to be improved;

(k)

construct, reconstruct, extend, maintain or repair optional improvements;

(l)

acquire any property necessary or advisable in order to make any of such improvements;

(m)

make any other improvements now or hereafter authorized by any other law, the cost of which in whole or in part can properly be determined to be of particular benefit to a particular area within the City;

(n)

construct and install all structures, equipment and other items; and

do any other work as may be necessary or appropriate to complete any of such improvements in a proper manner; and

(o)

conduct economic promotion activities.

In a district created for economic promotion activities, the City Council shall:

spend at least seventy-percent (70%) of any funds generated on economic promotion activities; and

spend no more than thirty-percent (30%) of any funds generated on administrative costs, including salaries, benefits, rent, travel, and costs incidental to publications.

For the purpose of making and paying for all or a part of the cost of any of such improvements (including optional improvements), the City Council may:

create special improvement districts within the City;

levy assessments on property within such a district which is benefited by the improvements;

collect improvement revenues from those improvements; and

issue interim warrants and special improvement bonds as provided in the Utah Municipal Improvement District Act.

(4)

The City Council shall not use the procedures outlined in this Chapter to pay the cost of buildings or structures used for industry or research.

(Statutory Authority UCA 17A-16-304; added in codification 1979; 1979 code 6-6-2; amended in codification)

§ 6-6-103 Notice of Intention.

Before a special improvement district is created, the City Council shall give notice of its intention to make the improvements and to levy assessments to pay all or a part of the cost thereof. Such notice shall contain the information and be given in the manner required by the Utah Municipal Improvement District Act.

(Statutory Authority UCA 17A-3-305, 306; added in codification 1979; 1979 Code 6-6-3)

§ 6-6-104 Protests by Property Owners.

Any person who is the owner of property to be assessed in the special improvement district described in the notice of intention may, within the time designated in the notice, file, in writing, a protest to the creation of the special improvement district or make any other objections relating thereto.

The protest shall describe or otherwise identify the property owned by the person making the protest.

On the date and at the time and place specified in the notice of intention, the City Council shall, in open and public session, consider all protests so filed and hear all objections relating to the proposed special improvement district.

The City Council may adjourn the hearing from time to time to a fixed future time and place.

After the hearing has been concluded and after all persons desiring to be heard have been heard, the City Council shall consider the arguments and protests made.

The City Council may:

make deletions and changes in the proposed improvements; and

make deletions and changes in the area to be included in the special improvement district as desirable or necessary to assure adequate benefits to the property in the district.

(e)

The City Council may not provide for the making of any improvements that are not stated in the notice of intention nor for adding to the district any property not included within the boundaries of the district unless a new notice of intention is given and a new hearing held.

After this consideration and determination, the City Council shall adopt a resolution either abandoning the district or creating the district either as described in the notice of intention or with deletions and changes made as authorized in this Section.

§ 6-6-106 When Assessments May be Levied.

The City Council shall abandon the district and not create the same if the necessary number of protests as provided in the Utah Municipal Improvement District Act have been filed on or before the time specified in the notice of intention for the filing of protests after eliminating from the filed protests:

(A)

protests relating to property or relating to a type of improvement that has been deleted from the district; and

(B)

protests that have been withdrawn in writing before the conclusion of the hearing.

(C)

If less than the necessary number of protests are filed by the owners of the property to be assessed, the City Council may create the special improvement district and begin making the improvements.

(Statutory Authority UCA 17A-3-307; added in codification 1979; 1979 Code 6-6-4; amended in codification)

§ 6-6-105 Contracts for Improvements.

Except as otherwise provided in the Municipal Improvement District Act, improvements in a special improvement district shall be made only under contract duly let to the lowest responsible bidder for the kind of service or material or form of construction which may be determined upon after notice has been given and bids received as provided in said act. The improvements may be divided into parts and separate contracts let for each part, or several such parts may be combined in the same contract. A contract may be let on a unit basis.

(Statutory Authority UCA 17A-3-308; added in codification 1979; 1979 Code 6-6-5)

Assessments for improvements in a special improvement district may be levied:

At any time after all contracts for the making of the improvements have been let, the proper price for all property acquired to make the improvements has been plainly determined and the reasonable cost of any work to be done by the City has been determined; or

For light service or park maintenance at any time after the light service or park maintenance has been commenced; or

§ 6-6-107 Assessment List and Board of Equalization.

At any time after all of the improvements in the special improvement district are entirely completed and accepted; or

(4)

For economic promotion activities, at any time after the district has been created.

(Statutory Authority UCA 17A-3-312; added in codification 1979; 1979 code 6-6-6; amended in codification)

Before an assessment is levied, an assessment list shall be prepared designating each parcel of property proposed to be assessed and the amount of the assessment apportioned to such property.

Upon completion of the assessment list, the City Council shall:

appoint a board of equalization and review consisting of three or more members of the City Council or, at the option of the City Council, consisting of the City Engineer, City Recorder and City Attorney;

and give public notice of the completion of the assessment list and of the time and place of the holding of public hearings relating to the proposed assessments in accordance with the Utah Municipal Improvement District Act.

If the board of equalization and review consists of other than members of the City Council, appeal from a decision of the board of equalization and review shall be taken to the City Council by filing a written notice of appeal in the office of the City Recorder within fifteen (15) days from the date the board's final report to the City Council is mailed to the affected property owners as provided in subsection (7).

The notice shall be published in a newspaper published in the City.

The notice shall be published at least one time with the first publication at least twenty (20) and not more than thirty-five (35) days prior to the date the board will begin its hearings.

(4)

Not later than ten (10) days after the first publication of the notice, the notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid:

addressed to each owner of property to be assessed within the special improvement district at the last known address of the owner, using for this purpose the names and addresses appearing on the last completed real property assessment rolls of the county; and

addressed to "owner" at the street number of each piece of improved real property to be assessed. If a street number has not been assigned, then the post office box, rural route number, or any other mailing address of the improved property shall be used for the mailing of the notice.

(5)

The board of equalization and review shall convene at the time and place specified in the notice. Hearings shall be held on not less than three consecutive days for at least one (1) hour between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. as specified in the notice. The hearings may be adjourned or recessed from time to time to a specific place and a specific hour and day until the work of the board shall have been completed. At each hearing the board shall hear arguments from any person who believes himself to be aggrieved, including arguments relating to the benefits accruing to any tract, block, lot, or parcel of property in the district or relating to the amount of the proposed assessment against that tract, block, lot, or parcel.

(6)

After the hearings have been completed, the board shall consider all facts and arguments presented and shall make such corrections in any proposed assessment as it may consider just and equitable. These corrections may eliminate one or more pieces of property or may increase or decrease the amount of the assessment proposed to be levied against any piece of property.

If the corrections result in an increase of any proposed assessment, before approving the corrected assessment list, the board shall cause notice of such increase and hear objections thereto in accordance with the requirements of the Utah Municipal Improvement District Act before approving the corrected assessment list.

(7)

After all corrections have been made and all hearings, including hearings under subsection (6), have been held, the board shall report to the City Council its findings that each piece of property within the special improvement district will be benefited in an amount not less than the assessment to be levied against such property, and that no piece of property listed on the assessment will bear more than its proportionate share of the cost of the improvement.

The board shall cause to be mailed a copy of the board's final report to each owner of property who objected at the hearings of the board to the assessment proposed to be levied against his property.

The findings of the board, when approved by the City Council or after passage of time for appeal and review by the City Council, shall be final and, except as provided in subsection 2(b), no appeal may be taken therefrom.

§ 6-6-108 Ordinance Levying Assessments.

After receipt of the report from the board and the running of the appeal period provided in subsection 2(b), if applicable, the City Council may proceed with the levy of the assessments.

(8)

Each person whose property is subject to assessment and who fails to appear before the board of equalization and review to raise his objections to the levy of the assessment shall be deemed to have waived all objections to the levy except the objection that the City Council failed to obtain jurisdiction to order the making of the improvements which the assessment is intended to pay.

(Statutory Authority UCA 17A-3-317; added in codification 1979; 1979 Code 6-6-7; amended in codification)

Assessments shall be levied by ordinance. The assessment ordinance shall conform to all provisions of the Utah Municipal Improvement District Act and may contain any provision authorized by that act.

(Statutory Authority UCA 17A-3-318 to 320; added in codification 1979; 1979 Code 6-6-8; amended in codification)

§ 6-6-109 [Repealed]

(Added in codification 1979; 1979 Code 6-6-9; repealed in codification)

§ 6-6-110 Prepayment of Assessments.

Assessments payable in installments may be paid prior to the due date of any such installment as provided in this section but not otherwise.

The whole or any part of the assessment may be paid without interest within fifteen (15) days after the ordinance levying the assessment becomes effective. If the assessment is paid in part, the unpaid balance may, at the discretion of the City Council, be payable either in substantially equal installments of principal and interest over the period of time installments are payable as provided in the assessment ordinance.

After such fifteen (15) day period and if the ordinance levying the assessment so provides, all unpaid installments of assessments levied against any piece of property (but only in their entirety) may be paid prior to the dates on which they become due. Any such prepayment must include an additional amount equal to the interest which would accrue on the assessment to the next succeeding date on which interest is payable on any special improvement bonds issued in anticipation of the collection of the assessments, plus such additional amount as, in the opinion of the City Council or of any officer of the City designated by the City Council, is necessary to assure the availability of money to pay interest on the special improvement bonds as interest becomes due plus any premiums which may become payable on redeemable bonds which may be called in order to utilize the assessments thus paid in advance.

(Statutory Authority UCA 17A-3-321; amended in codification 1979; 1979 Code 6-6-10; amended in codification)

§ 6-6-111 Default in Payment.

When an assessment is payable in installments and a default occurs in the payment of any installment when due, the whole of the unpaid principal and interest shall become due and payable immediately, and subject to collection as provided in this Chapter. Interest shall accrue and be paid on all amounts delinquent or accelerated and immediately due and payable and shall bear interest at a rate established by the City council until the next succeeding date after payment or collection on which interest is payable on any bonds issued. Costs of collection approved by the City Council or required by law shall be charged and paid on all amounts declared to be delinquent or accelerated and immediately due and payable.

Any interest assessed for or costs of collection charged under authority of this section on delinquent balances of principal and interest shall be the same as are applied to delinquent real property taxes for the year in which the balance of the fee or charge became delinquent.