Consider Revision to Chapter 8 of Charter regarding Special Assessment Petitions

Since January of 2009, the City Council has had many discussions regarding the rules for implementing local improvements.

In September of 2009, the City Attorney and Assistant City Engineer discussed the terms of the Charter with the Charter Commission. More specifically, the City Council requested that the Charter Commission make a recommendation that the ability to counter petition a public improvement be increased to 75% instead of the current requirement of 50%. There was much discussion about the protection of the existing resident and the recommendation was not made thereby allowing the charter provision to remain.

State Statue 429.031 Subd 1 (f) (attached) allows adjacent property owners to petition for an improvement by having owners of not less than 35% in frontage along said improvement sign a petition for such an improvement.

On January 23, 2012, the City Council held a strategic planning exercise in which they directed Staff to approach the Charter Commission to ask them for a recommendation to require that the adjacent property owners along an improvement have more than 50% sign a petition. The purpose of this case is to allow ask for permission to add a line in the existing Charter adding a provision  by Ordinance that would require a minimum 50% of the adjacent property owners sign a petition for making a public improvement. 

There are costs associated with preparing feasibility studies that are generally recaptured during the assessment process. When a counter petition is received for an improvement, the City and its taxpayers have to absorb that cost. Staff and the City Council want to avoid this additional cost and increased time necessary with a neighborhood that is not more fully supportive of the improvements in which they petition.

Attached to the case is a copy of Chapter 8 of the City Charter which states that we will follow State Statute unless specifically modified in the Charter. Currently the provision that allows a petition for an improvement by only 35% of the adjacent property owners is in State Statute.

The process to change the Charter is also attached.

Staff recommends that the Charter Commission recommend to the City Council preparation of an ordinance that would add Section 8.4.8 Requirements for Petitioning for a Local Improvement. Said section would read:

Section 8.4.8 Requirements for Petitioning for a Local Improvement

The hearing may be adjourned from time to time, and a resolution ordering the improvement may be adopted at any time within six months after the date of the hearing by vote of a majority of all members of the council when the improvement has been petitioned for by the owners of not less than 50 percent in frontage of the real property abutting on the streets named in the petition as the location of the improvement.

NA

Based upon discussion