§ 50-1709 — PROTESTS AND HEARING

Any owner of property to be assessed in the proposed local improvement district described in the notice of intention shall have the right, in advance of the hearing, to file in writing a protest to the creation of the district or making any other objections in relation thereto. At the date, time and place specified in the notice of intention the council shall in open and public session consider all protests which have been filed in writing in advance of the hearing, and the hearing may be adjourned from time to time to a fixed future time and place for the same until all such protests have been heard. The decision of the council as to all protests shall be conclusive and final, and if it should so determine, the council may delete any improvements or any property which had originally been contemplated in the said notice. If owners of more than two-thirds (2/3) of the property to be assessed protest any of the proposed improvements which affect their property, the council shall not proceed further with the work so protested unless a majority of the members of the full council shall vote to proceed with such work. The vote on the hereinafter mentioned ordinance creating the improvement district shall constitute the vote as to whether or not the council will proceed. Any property owner who fails to file a protest within the time specified, or having filed one withdraws said protest, shall be deemed to have waived any objection to the creation of the district, the making of the improvements, and the inclusion of his property in the district. Such waiver shall not preclude his right to object to the amount of the assessment at the later hearing provided for such purpose.
In cases where the creation of a local improvement district has been proposed by the governing board of an entity other than a city council or board of county commissioners, and where written protests are filed and sixty percent (60%) of the resident owners or the owners of two-thirds (2/3) of the lots and lands subject to assessment within such proposed improvement district have signed such protest, the governing board of the governmental entity proposing the local improvement district shall not be allowed to proceed with the creation of the district for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days. During this one hundred eighty (180) day period, the city council shall act as a review board for as much of the proposed district as is situated within the boundaries of the city, and the board of county commissioners shall act as a review board for that portion of the proposed local improvement district as is situated within the unincorporated portion of the county. As a review board, the city council or board of county commissioners shall review the record of the proposal, including conformance with procedural provisions of law. The city council or board of county commissioners shall also evaluate the necessity or desirability of the proposed district, and shall take into consideration the creation of the proposed local improvement district as it relates to the following:
(a) the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the proposed district, or of persons having the necessity to travel through the district; and
(b) the financial impact of the creation and implementation of the objectives of the proposed district upon the property owners within the proposed district, especially in light of projects recently undertaken or contemplated for the near future within the district.
After its evaluation, the city council shall approve, modify or reject the proposal for the creation of a local improvement district for as much of the proposed district as is situated within the boundaries of the city, and the board of county commissioners shall approve, modify or reject the proposal for the creation of a local improvement district for as much of the proposed district as is situated within the unincorporated portion of the county.

Legislative History

[50-1709, added 1976, ch. 160, sec. 2, p. 573; am. 1999, ch. 291, sec. 7, p. 728.]