Chapter A-8. Special Assessment Policy  

RESOLVED, That the council of the City of Saint Paul does hereby approve and adopt, as the local public improvement special assessment policy for the City of Saint Paul, the attached mayor's recommended Special Assessment Policy; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That this approved local public improvement special assessment policy shall apply to all improvements authorized by the city council effective January 1, 1976; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the reconstruction of standard improvements, i.e., streets, curbs and gutters shall be done in accordance with the Residential Street Repaving Plan, including petition improvements, to be developed by the department of public works and city planning.

(C.F. No. 268302, 12-21-76)

CITY OF SAINT PAUL LOCAL PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT SPECIAL ASSESSMENT POLICY

SECTION 1: PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy statement is to integrate and codify all existing and proposed city policies concerning the use of special assessments to finance the construction of local public improvements.

SECTION 2: DEFINITIONS

a.

Abutting property: Property directly adjacent to, or directly utilizing or being serviced by, a local public improvement.

b.

Assessable front footage: Dimension or amount of benefitted property which abuts a local public improvement. Basis of most local public improvement cost calculations.

c.

Benefit: The increase in value enjoyed by real property as a result of the installation of a standard local public improvement.

d.

Improvement standard: Local public improvements meeting explicit specification and/or performance standards developed and promulgated by the department of public works.

e.

Local public improvements: Capital improvements providing a special benefit to properties, including, but not limited to, streets, sidewalks, street lights, street curbs and gutters, alleys, sanitary sewers, relief or storm sewers, water mains, driveways, utility connections, service or carriage walks, trees, sod, and asphalt mats between sidewalks and street curbs.

f.

Long side footage: Dimension or amount of benefitted property which abuts a local public improvement, the principal purpose of which improvement is to interconnect other improvements rather than to service abutting properties.

g.

First time construction: In an area characterized by: (1) substantial amounts of vacant and undeveloped land, and (2) absence of all or several local public improvements, where the provision of an approved local public improvement is first time construction. (Paving of previously tarred streets will not be considered first time construction.)

h.

Special assessment: A legal process whereby specially benefitted property is charged for all or a portion of the cost of installation of a local public improvement which benefits such property.

i.

Tax exempt property: Property not required by law to pay property taxes or other taxes to the City of Saint Paul.

j.

Utility connections: That part of the utility service within the street right-of-way connecting the utility main to the serviced property.

SECTION 3: POLICY

It is the policy of the City of Saint Paul that the reconstruction of local public improvements shall be done without assessments and that first time construction in new development areas shall be done by total assessment of the improvement cost to the benefitting properties. This policy extends the scope of previous city council policies established in Council File 266798 (no assessment for sidewalk reconstruction) and Council File 266797 (no assessment for reconstruction of aid streets). While there are exceptions to these policies, they form the policy direction needed for implementation of a uniform special assessment policy.

SECTION 4: ASSESSMENT RATES

Subject to the amount of benefit received and to the exceptions and special cases noted below, the following percentage of improvement installation costs will be levied as a special assessment against benefitted properties:

Table I
Special Assessment Rates

*Refers to area on (1) private property, or (2) between sidewalk and street.

SECTION 5: POLICY EXCEPTIONS AND SPECIAL CASES

a.

Policy exceptions; subsidy for development: In order to encourage and foster appropriate new development, the city council may, at its discretion, budget and use funds to subsidize some portion of special assessments in new development areas for new construction of local public improvements. In exercising this prerogative, the city council will not approve subsidies which exceed the projected tax revenues of a given development during the projected life of the improvement. In no case will the development of properties for tax exempt purposes be subsidized.

b.

Special case—Extraordinary costs. The special assessment rates shown on Table I are meant to apply to the usual or normal costs associated with the installation of a given improvement in a given year. In all cases, the city may pay all costs which exceed these usual or normal costs. This includes such miscellaneous extra cost items as removing trees in order to install sidewalks, or unusual soil or slope conditions.

c.

Special case—Improvement intersections:

(1)

When improvements intersect, e.g., street crossings, alley intersections, curbs and gutters, etc., the city will pay such intersection costs for that area between the extension of relevant private property lines.

(2)

When a sidewalk crosses a driveway servicing residential property, requiring a thicker slab, these minor additional costs will be borne by the city. When a sidewalk crosses a driveway servicing some other class of property, these additional costs may be assessed against the abutting property at the discretion of the city council according to rules and guidelines promulgated by the valuation engineer or other appropriate administrative personnel.

(3)

Alley installation costs will be paid by the city for that portion of an alley which abuts a public boulevard and provides access from a street.

(4)

Improvement of a service or carriage walk in connection with the installation of a new sidewalk will be paid by the city when such improvement work does not exceed eight (8) square feet on either side of the sidewalk. Work in excess of eight (8) square feet will be charged against the abutting property.

d.

Special case—Irregular parcels or improvement design. Difficulties arise in determining assessable front footage because of property parcels of irregular shapes. It is the responsibility of the valuation engineer or other appropriate administrative personnel to promulgate rules and guidelines which specify how front footages will be determined for irregularly shaped parcels.

Assessable front footage shall be determined on the simplest basis possible. Assessment revenues foregone by the city because of this policy will be paid by the city. Special construction features in improvements servicing specific properties will always be fully assessed against those specific properties unless the city council determines, based on staff recommendation, that a measure of public benefit exists; in which case, the council may determine the amount of assessment.

e.

Special case—Long side aid. Long side footage (as opposed to the normal "short side" front footage) is that part of a property which abuts an improvement whose purpose is usually, but not always, to connect improvements and thus form an urban improvement system. The overwhelming benefit of such improvements is to the public at large rather than to the abutting property. (See Attachment I for a descriptive illustration.)

The following long-side assessment policies apply to first time construction and to all property classes:

f.

Special case—Sanitary sewer advance assessment charge. The city assesses property a portion of sanitary sewer construction costs when such property connects to a sanitary sewer not abutting the property (Sections 76.01—76.03, Legislative Code).

Illustration of Advance Assessment Situation

If the affected property ever has a sanitary sewer built which abuts the property, the property is (1) assessed these construction costs, and (2) is reimbursed the difference between this assessment and the advance assessment, or (3) reimburses the city if the assessment is higher than the advance assessment. This policy will continue in accordance with the assessment rates shown in Table I.

SECTION 6: IMPROVEMENT INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS

All improvements installed will meet the standards of the department of public works and the following improvements will be required in connection with new development of property: Streets, sewers, curbs and gutters, street lights, sidewalks, sanitary and storm sewers, water mains, tree planting, utility connections and alleys (where development is so designed).

These improvements to be constructed in connection with new development of property need not be built at the time of development, but must be installed within five (5) years of the beginning of construction of facilities on the property. Legal documents and administrative procedures effected subsequent to this policy statement in order to implement this policy will be considered to be fully incorporated in this statement. (NOTE: The building code must be amended to enforce this policy.)