12/21/1998 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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AGENDA ITEM 5G STAFF ORIGINATOR: John Powell, City Engineer DATE: December 18, 1998 TOPIC: Resolution No 98 -179, Assessment Policy Amendment BACKGROUND: The current Public Improvement Financing Policy was approved on June 11, 1990. Section 5.1 of the Policy includes what is commonly referred to as the "Bisel Amendment" which states the following: "When a sewer and water main is constructed adjacent to existing developed residential lots (with a home, well, and septic system) and the lot cannot be subdivided into smaller parcels, the front footage and area charges shall be based on the minimum front footage of each zoning district the mains are to serve" In other words, if a property owner wants to connect to City utilities and has a large lot which cannot be subdivided, the assessment computation is to be based on a typical residential lot size. This reduces the assessment cost to the property owner as the lot front footage and area are used as a basis for determining assessments. This policy has worked well for those property owners whose lot cannot be subdivided. However, some property owners with larger parcels have also indicated a desire to connect to City utilities but could not afford to as their lots could at some time be subdivided. To address this concern, we propose the following paragraph be added to Section 5.1 of the Public Improvement Financing Policy: "When a sewer and water main is constructed adjacent to existing developed residential lots (with a home, well, and septic system) and the lot can be subdivided into smaller parcels, an assessment for the front footage and area charges based on the minimum front footage of each zoning district the mains are to serve shall be due upon connection to the mains. The assessment for the remainder of the property will be deferred until such time as the property is subdivided." This change would allow these property owners to connect to utilities, if desired, for a more reasonable cost, but would still allow the City to recover assessments on the remainder of the property if it is subdivided. OPTIONS: 1. Retum to staff for further review. 2. Adopt Resolution Number 98 -179 approving the amendment to the assessment policy. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that Resolution Number 98 -179 be adopted.