Chapter 14.15.020
Formation Procedures
Sections:
14.15.020.010 Benefit District Application.
14.15.020.020 Benefit District Approval.
14.15.020.010 Benefit District Application.
Any person requesting to have a benefit district formed shall submit the following to the City Engineer:
A. An application on a form specified by the City Engineer.
B. The application fee as specified by resolution of the City Council.
C. The Engineer’s Report. The Engineer’s Report shall be prepared by a registered civil engineer and shall include:
1. The name of the district;
2. A description of the project, showing existing and proposed improvements. The plans and specifications need not be detailed but shall be sufficient, as determined by the City Engineer, to show or describe the general nature, location and extent of the improvements. If the district is divided into zones, the plans and specifications will indicate the class and type of improvements to be provided in each zone. When detailed plans and specifications are prepared, a copy will be provided to the City Engineer. The detailed plans will be open for public inspection at the office of the City Engineer during normal business hours;
3. Calculations which clearly show the following items:
a. The total cost of the project including construction costs and incidental expenses;
b. Developer’s share of that cost;
c. The share(s) of the other benefiting properties in the district; and
d. The method of determining that benefit;
4. A statement that value adjustment is or is not being requested;
5. A diagram clearly showing the boundary of the district and the properties within it. The diagram may be of any convenient scale. The applicant shall also furnish the City with an eight-and-one-half-inch by 11-inch version of the diagram;
6. If the district has different zones of benefit, the various components of the Engineer’s Report will clearly identify and explain those zones;
7. The name and address of the beneficiary of the benefit district; and
8. Written evidence to the satisfaction of the City Engineer that efforts have been made to obtain the lowest reasonable costs. The most acceptable method for doing so would be the submission of documentation that the contract was awarded to the lowest bidder in a competitive bidding process. However, whatever method is used, it shall be explained clearly, and accompanied by forms and calculations that are clear and easily understood.
The Engineer’s Report may be based on estimated costs or actual costs. However, if it is based on estimated costs, the benefit district will need to be recorded a second time after the actual costs are known.
D. A list of names and addresses of the property owners within the proposed benefit district whose names and addresses appear on the last equalized County assessment roll.
E. A waiver by the beneficiary of the right to sue or otherwise claim damages against the City from any error in payment and an acknowledgment that their sole remedy is that of a private right of action against an erroneous payee.
(Ord. 1972, Repealed and Replaced, 02/22/2022)
14.15.020.020 Benefit District Approval.
The following procedures are established for the formation and approval of benefit districts:
A. City Engineer Review. The City Engineer will review the District Engineer’s Report, diagrams, improvement plans, and other documentation submitted in support of the application.
In the process of reviewing the application, the City Engineer will contact each property owner proposed to be included in the benefit district and shall provide them with an opportunity to review, for a period of not less than 10 calendar days, the proposed benefit district and to submit their comments and recommended changes to the proposed benefit district and Engineer’s Report.
Based on the City Engineer’s review of the comments of the property owners proposed to be included in the benefit district, the City Engineer may recommend that modifications be made to the Engineer’s Report. The benefit district will then be forwarded to the City Council with the City Engineer’s recommendation for approval, denial, or approval with modifications.
B. Notice of Hearing on Formation of Benefit District. The City Clerk shall give notice of hearing on the formation of a benefit district as described below:
1. Content of Notice. The notice shall contain:
a. A declaration of the intention of the City Council to consider an order forming a benefit district and the fixing and collection charges pursuant to this division;
b. The time and place for the public hearing by the City Council on the question of formation of the district and adoption of the proposed benefit schedule;
c. The distinctive name or designation of the proposed benefit district and its general location;
d. A general description of the improvements;
e. A reference to the Engineer’s Report on file with the City Clerk which contains the full and detailed description of the improvements, the boundaries of the benefit district and any zones therein, and the proposed charges upon benefited lots and parcels of land within the district; and
f. A statement explaining how and when a property owner can file a written protest regarding the formation of the proposed benefit district.
2. Delivery of Notice. The notice shall be delivered at least 10 calendar days prior to the hearing date, as follows:
a. Published notice of any hearing shall be made one time in the local newspaper; and
b. Notice to the property owners shall be sent by first-class mail and shall be deemed given when so deposited.
In lieu of mailing, notice may be delivered in person to any individual, firm or corporation entitled to such notice and such personal delivery shall have the same force and effect as if the notice had been mailed.
C. Written Protests. Prior to the conclusion of the hearing, any property owner within the proposed boundaries of the benefit district may file a written protest with the City Clerk, or, having previously filed a protest, may file a written withdrawal of that protest. A written protest shall state all grounds of objection. A protest by a property owner shall contain a description sufficient to identify the location of the property owned by the individual filing the protest.
D. Public Hearing. The City Council shall hold the public hearing at the time and place fixed in the public notice. All interested persons shall be afforded the opportunity to appear and be heard. The City Council shall consider all oral statements and all written protests or communications made or filed by any interested persons.
E. City Council Actions. During the course of or upon the conclusion of the hearing, the City Council may:
1. Order changes in any of the matters provided in the Engineer’s Report, including changes in the improvements, the boundaries of the proposed benefit district and any zones therein, and the proposed diagram or the proposed benefit schedule; provided, that there are no increased costs to any of the properties within the proposed district, other than the land developer’s property. If the change proposed by the City Council would result in increased costs to any of the properties within the district, other than the land developer’s property, then the hearing shall be continued and a new notice indicating the proposed increases in cost shall be given in accordance with subsection B of this section;
2. Order, without further notice, the exclusion of territory from the proposed benefit district; provided, that there are no increased costs to any of the properties within the proposed district, other than the land developer’s property. If there will be increased costs to any of the properties within the district, other than the land developer’s property, then the hearing shall be continued and a new notice indicating the proposed increases in cost shall be given in accordance with subsection B of this section;
3. Order the inclusion of additional territory within the district upon written request by a property owner for the inclusion of his or her property;
4. Continue the public hearing and provide a new notice, in accordance with subsection B of this section, to property owners regarding the inclusion of their property into the district;
5. Determine whether a majority protest exists. A majority protest exists if, upon conclusion of the hearing, written protests filed and not withdrawn represent property owners owning more than 50 percent of the area of chargeable lands within the proposed benefit district or more than 50 percent of the allocable costs under the proposed benefit district after adjustments made during the public hearing. For that purpose, the extent of territory within the proposed benefit district shall be adjusted in conformance with any orders made by the City Council excluding territory from or including additional territory within the benefit district. In addition, for the purposes of calculating whether or not a majority protest exists, the land owned by the proponent of the benefit district shall be included, to the extent that such property is also benefited by the improvements:
a. If there is found to exist a majority protest, proceedings for the formation of the benefit district shall be abandoned unless, by a four-fifths vote of all members of the City Council, the protest is overruled;
6. Order the abandonment of the proceedings, even if it has determined a majority protest has not been filed, if the City Council finds that the formation of the district is not in the public interest; and
7. Adopt a resolution ordering formation of the benefit district and adopting and confirming the diagram and benefit schedule, if a majority protest has not been filed, or, if filed, has been overruled. The City Council may either approve the formation of the benefit district as originally proposed before the City Council or as changed by it:
a. In approving a benefit district, the City Council shall make a specific finding on whether or not to allow for value adjustments, as defined in Section 14.15.010.030, to the cost of the improvements within the district based on the following:
i. If the value adjustment is due to a specific improvement conditioned by the City and the land developer has made a request to allow for value adjustments, then the request shall be granted. The benefit schedule shall reflect the fact that a value adjustment in the cost of the improvements will be allowed;
ii. If the value adjustment is due to an improvement that was installed in advance of when the improvement would normally have been required to be installed by the City and the land developer has made a request to allow for value adjustments, the City Council may grant or deny such request. The benefit schedule shall reflect the City Council’s determination whether or not to allow for a value adjustment in the cost of the improvements;
iii. If the land developer does not request a provision for value adjustments, then the benefit schedule shall reflect the fact that no value adjustment in the cost of the improvements will be allowed.
F. Recordation of Benefit District. After adoption of a resolution forming a benefit district, and confirming and adopting a diagram and benefit schedule, the City Clerk shall record certified copies of these documents with the County Recorder. If the benefit district documents were based on estimated costs versus actual cost, then a second recording of the benefit district documents shall occur after the City Engineer has finalized the documents. The City Engineer shall notify the City Clerk that the revised benefit district documents are ready for recordation based on the completion of the following steps:
1. That the Engineer’s Report, benefit schedule, and other benefit district documents have been finalized. In finalizing the costs for any benefit district in which the Engineer’s Report was based on estimated costs, the City Engineer shall use the following criteria:
a. If the finalized, actual costs are equal to or less than the estimated costs, these costs can administratively be substituted into the Engineer’s Report by the City Engineer;
b. If the finalized, actual costs exceed the estimated costs by five percent or less, then the proponent of the benefit district shall absorb these costs into his or her portion of the benefit spread. In no case shall these costs be apportioned to the other properties in the benefit district;
c. If the finalized, actual costs exceed the estimated costs by more than five percent, then the proponent of the benefit district shall either absorb the costs as noted in subsection B of this section or file an amended application to be reconsidered by the City Council. The proponent shall pay all costs associated with the filing of the new application.
2. That the improvement plans for the facilities included in the benefit district have been approved by the City Engineer and the Director of Public Works.
(Ord. 1972, Repealed and Replaced, 02/22/2022)