A.
The Sussex County Council each year shall, after a public hearing,
establish an annual assessment roll for the sanitary sewer or water
districts, which shall be known as the "sanitary sewer assessment"
or "water assessment."
B.
Notice of the public hearing shall state that the assessment roll
has been completed and filed and that, at the time and place fixed
for the public hearing, the County Council will meet and hear and
consider any objections which may be made to the assessment roll.
Notice of the public hearing shall be published in a newspaper published
within Sussex County and having a general circulation in the County
once in each of the two weeks immediately preceding the week in which
the public hearing is to be held.
C.
After holding the public hearing, the County Council may change or
amend the assessment roll as it deems necessary or may confirm and
adopt the assessment roll as originally proposed or as amended and
changed.
The annual sanitary sewer assessment fee and/or annual water
assessment fee may be established for each area of the Unified Sanitary
Sewer District and/or water district. Annual assessment fees shall
be based on a proportion, as determined by the County, of the total
amount required each year to reimburse the County for sums to be expended
for retiring bonds and/or notes which have been issued or capital
expenditures for a sanitary sewer district area or a water district
to design, acquire and construct a respective sewer collection and
local transmission system or a respective water system. Unless otherwise
determined by the County as part of the approval of its annual assessment
roll, the method of determining the assessment fee shall be based
upon the method established at the time the property was incorporated
into a sanitary sewer district or water district pursuant to Title
9 of the Delaware Code, as follows:
A.
Where EDUs are established as the method of determining assessment fees, the amount required from dwellings, structures or other establishments or facilities to which EDUs are assigned pursuant to this chapter shall be based upon the number of EDUs allocated to the property as determined in Article XIII of this chapter and the amount to be recovered by the assessment as determined by the County.; provided, however, that undeveloped residential lots shall be assessed with one EDU. Once the property is improved or further subdivided, the number of EDUs allocated shall be as determined in Article XIII of this chapter and the amount to be recovered by the assessment as determined by the County.
B.
Where a front footage calculation is established as the method of
determining assessment fees, the amount required from each property
shall be equally proportioned to the assessable front footage.
C.
All properties that are located in the Unified Sanitary Sewer District
or a water district as of January 1, 2018, shall continue to be assessed
based upon the assessment methodology applied at that time, unless
otherwise determined by the County as part of the approval of its
annual assessment roll.
A.
The County shall assess a one-time sewer system connection charge
for financing future expansion and/or replacement of sewage transmission
as well as treatment and disposal projects. The sewer system connection
charge shall be proportioned between transmission and treatment, as
determined by the County, of amounts sufficient to compensate the
County for all or a proportion of the capital costs required to plan,
design, acquire, construct or replace said facilities.
B.
The County shall assess a onetime water system connection charge
for financing future expansion and/or replacements of water supply,
treatment and storage systems. The water system connection charge
shall be proportioned between water system components, as determined
by the County, of amounts sufficient to compensate the County for
all or a proportion of the capital costs required to plan, design,
acquire, construct or replace said facilities.
C.
The County shall set the water and sewer system connection charges
during the annual Sussex County budget process.
D.
The connection charge shall apply to each dwelling(s) or building(s) located on a parcel, and to all other establishments to which EDUs are assigned pursuant to Article XIII of this chapter.
E.
The connection charge shall be applicable, but not limited to, the
following scenarios where water and/or sewer facilities owned or contracted
by the County are utilized:
(1)
To all new connections in an existing water or sanitary sewer area including entities exempt from payment of water or sanitary sewer assessments pursuant to § 110-86.
(2)
In an existing water or sanitary sewer area where service was previously
technically not available.
(3)
In an existing or new water or sanitary sewer area when a structure
is expanded or reconstructed to the extent that the revised number
of EDUs exceed the EDU assignment prior to such expansion or reconstruction.
F.
EDUs assigned to dwellings, structures or any other establishments subject to the connection charge shall be based upon the number of EDUs as determined in Article XIII. Any increase in the number of EDUs shall result in the assessment of additional system connection charge(s).
G.
The connection charge provided for herein shall be in addition to
all other charges and assessments made in connection with the furnishing
of water and/or sewer service and shall be billed and payable in a
manner determined by the County.
H.
The connection charge shall be a lien on the property and shall be
collected by the County as are other County taxes. The properties
against which such connection charges are levied shall be liable for
the payment of the connection charges in the same manner as they are
liable for other County taxes.
A.
Front footage measurements for collection/distribution and transmission/treatment
purposes shall be completed for every assessable parcel in each district/area,
if assessed on a front-footage basis.
B.
Front footage for every assessable parcel in each district shall
be computed by the procedures enumerated:
(1)
Where the parcel contains two or more previously recorded lots, the
front footage measurement for the parcel shall be the total of the
front footage measurements of those lots within the parcel, except
that, where two or more adjacent lots are set apart and occupied and
used for the same purpose, the front footage measurement shall be
determined by the total measurements of the lots set apart.
(2)
A parcel in a street with one side only fronting the street shall
be assessed the total front footage.
(3)
A parcel on two or more streets shall be assessed the total front
footage of the shortest side of the parcel.
(4)
A parcel is a parcel fronting two or more streets when the angle
of the extended street center line is 135° or less, and it shall
be assessed as a parcel on two or more streets.
(5)
A parcel abutting water shall be assessed on deed dimension or as
measured on the Official Sussex County Property Map.
(6)
A parcel on a cul-de-sac shall be assessed the total front footage.
(7)
Where a parcel configuration contains an arc, the length of the arc
shall be used as front footage measurements. When an arc forms a parcel
corner, the center of the measured arc shall constitute the corner.
(8)
When a parcel has an easement across it by any public authority,
the easement shall have no bearing on the assessment. When a parcel
has a right-of-way across it by any public authority, the right-of-way
shall be deducted from the parcel dimension.
(9)
In no case shall a parcel or other individually owned property be
assessed less than 40 feet. The County as part of the annual budget
process may choose to place a cap on the front footage of parcels
improved with only one single-family residential structure.
(10)
Where a parcel contains multiple living units or building(s)
and/or dwelling(s) with a number of assigned equivalent dwelling units
greater than one which is served by a County sewage or water system,
the parcel shall be assessed on the assessable footage of streets
within the parcel and abutting the public street or the number of
assigned equivalent dwelling units times 40, whichever is greater.
This calculation shall not apply to parcels improved with only one
single-family residential structure.
(11)
A parcel shall be considered irregular in shape when the area
of the parcel is in proportion less than half of the area of a rectangular-
or square-shaped parcel having the same actual total front footage
dimension and the same maximum depth dimension as the parcel being
considered as irregular in shape. The maximum depth dimension shall
be measured perpendicular to the actual total front footage dimension
and shall not be located for any portion outside of the physical boundaries
of the parcel being considered as irregular in shape. An irregular-shaped
parcel shall be assessed a total footage assessment equal to the area
of the parcel divided by the maximum depth of the parcel as defined
herein.
(12)
Parcels designated as state or federal wetlands and requiring
a proper permit prior to being improved shall not be assessed until
such time as a permit is obtained.
(13)
Any parcel reduced in size, by reason of acquisition by public
authority, beyond the required minimums under the respective zoning
for a structure to be built shall not be assessed.
A.
The annual sanitary sewer assessment fee or water assessment fee
shall be a lien on the property and shall be collected by the County
government as are other County taxes. The properties against which
such assessments are levied shall be liable for the payment of the
assessments in the same manner as they are liable for other County
taxes, and subject to the same collection procedures as set forth
in Chapter 67 of Title 9 of the Delaware Code.
B.
A parcel, whether vacant or occupied, shall become liable for a sanitary
sewer assessment fee or water assessment fee when a connection from
the main sewer or water main is or can be made to the parcel.
C.
The annual sanitary sewer assessment fee or the annual water assessment
fee shall be set by the County during the annual Sussex County budget
process, or as amended and changed for new areas, billed and collected
on a regularly scheduled basis as established by the County.
A.
No assessment shall be made against any property during the period
in which it is not subject to taxation and assessment for County and
municipal purposes.
B.
No assessment shall be made against that portion of a parcel during the period in which the portion qualifies for agricultural, horticultural or forest uses as more fully defined by 9 Del. C. §§ 8330 through 8337, inclusive. Should that portion of a parcel no longer qualify for such agricultural, horticultural or forest uses, then the connection charges more fully defined in § 110-83 of this chapter shall be levied as a result of and for the period of the exemption.
A.
In the case where a proposed County sanitary sewer or water area
includes parcels wherein sanitary sewer or water systems have been
previously constructed under the authority of municipalities, corporations
or individuals, discretionary adjustments, as determined by the County
Engineer, may be made with each property owner for costs incurred
by the property owner when those sewers and water systems were constructed;
provided, however, that no adjustment shall be made for sewer and
water systems constructed more than five years prior to the district
area expansion approval by County Council.
B.
Where a condition on which an original assessment was based on changes,
such as parcel division, street construction or construction of multiple-dwelling
buildings, then that parcel will be reassessed and liable for the
revised assessment.
