§ 19-2774 — Special road and street improvements; petition; engineer's report; notice to owners; protests; special assessments; bonds

That whenever a petition, signed by not less than majority of the owners of land abutting upon a street, road, alley, or other public traveled way within the improvement district or signed by the owners of all of the property located within the district, is presented to the board of directors praying that certain improvements, to be described in the petition, be made and that the cost thereof be assessed as special assessment against the properties abutting on such street, road, alley or other public traveled way, the board of directors shall determine if the number of signers is adequate and if found sufficient the board of directors shall have a competent registered engineer prepare plans, estimates and determine the estimated cost for each tract or parcel abutting on said proposed improvement. In the execution of this section abutting property shall be considered as reaching halfway to the next street, or road if the tract is platted into blocks but in no case shall the benefited property be considered as extending more than three hundred (300) feet from the property line of the street or road to be improved. The engineer shall file a report with the secretary of the board showing the nature and character of the proposed work, plans and specifications, and a list of property owners and the estimated assessment against the property owned by each.
The secretary of the board of directors shall notify each property owner by registered mail the amount of the proposed assessment as set out in the engineer's report and shall also state in said notice that, except as to improvements the petition for which is signed by the owners of all of the property within the district, if a majority of the resident property owners do not file protest within twenty (20) days that the board of directors will proceed to cause said work to be done. If the board of directors determine that insufficient protest has been filed within the protest period they shall cause said work to be done and levy special assessment or in their discretion or if so set out in the original petition they may authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds of the county therefor to be payable in equal annual installments. Such bonds shall be issued as provided by law, but no bonds shall be issued under this provision until thirty (30) days after the last day of the protest period and during said thirty (30) days any person against whose property any special assessment shall have been levied may pay the same in full and thereby discharge his property from the lien thereof.

Legislative History

L. 1945, ch. 180, § 22; L. 1969, ch. 156, § 13; L. 1974, ch. 122, § 19; March 18.