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S.B. 242

This document includes Senate Committee Amendments incorporated into the bill on Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 8:39 AM by rday. --> This document includes House Committee Amendments incorporated into the bill on Wed, Feb 23, 2011 at 3:05 PM by jeyring. -->              1     

ASSESSMENT AREA AMENDMENTS

             2     
2011 GENERAL SESSION

             3     
STATE OF UTAH

             4     
Chief Sponsor: Wayne L. Niederhauser

             5     
House Sponsor: Michael T. Morley

             6     

             7      LONG TITLE
             8      General Description:
             9          This bill defines terms and amends provisions relating to an assessment area that
             10      consists of unimproved property.
             11      Highlighted Provisions:
             12          This bill:
             13          .    defines terms; and
             14          .    amends provisions relating to an assessment area consisting of unimproved
             15      property.
             16      Money Appropriated in this Bill:
             17          None
             18      Other Special Clauses:
             19          None
             20      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             21      AMENDS:
             22          11-42-102, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2009, Chapters 92 and 246
             23          11-42-205, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2009, Chapter 246
             24     

             25      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             26          Section 1. Section 11-42-102 is amended to read:
             27           11-42-102. Definitions.



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House Committee Amendments 2-23-2011 je/va
             28
         (1) "Adequate protests" means timely filed, written protests under Section 11-42-203
             29      that represent at least 50% of the frontage, area, taxable value, fair market value, lots, number
             30      of connections, or equivalent residential units of the property proposed to be assessed,
             31      according to the same assessment method by which the assessment is proposed to be levied,
             32      after eliminating:
             33          (a) protests relating to:
             34          (i) property that has been deleted from a proposed assessment area; or
             35          (ii) an improvement that has been deleted from the proposed improvements to be
             36      provided to property within the proposed assessment area; and
             37          (b) protests that have been withdrawn under Subsection 11-42-203 (3).
             38          (2) "Assessment area" means an area, or, if more than one area is designated, the
             39      aggregate of all areas within a local entity's jurisdictional boundaries that is designated by a
             40      local entity under Part 2, Designating an Assessment Area, for the purpose of financing the
             41      costs of improvements, operation and maintenance, or economic promotion activities that
             42      benefit property within the area.
             43          (3) "Assessment bonds" means bonds that are:
             44          (a) issued under Section 11-42-605 ; and
             45          (b) payable in part or in whole from assessments levied in an assessment area,
             46      improvement revenues, and a guaranty fund or reserve fund.
             47          (4) "Assessment fund" means a special fund that a local entity establishes under
             48      Section 11-42-412 .
             49          (5) "Assessment lien" means a lien on property within an assessment area that arises
             50      from the levy of an assessment, as provided in Section 11-42-501 .
             51          (6) "Assessment method" means the method by which an assessment is levied against
             52      property, whether by frontage, area, taxable value, fair market value, lot, parcel, number of
             53      connections, equivalent residential unit, H. [ or ] .H any combination of these methods H. [ . ] ,
             53a      or any other method that equitably reflects the benefit received from the improvement. .H
             54          (7) "Assessment ordinance" means an ordinance adopted by a local entity under
             55      Section 11-42-404 that levies an assessment on benefitted property within an assessment area.
             56          (8) "Assessment resolution" means a resolution adopted by a local entity under Section
             57      11-42-404 that levies an assessment on benefitted property within an assessment area.
             58          (9) "Benefitted property" means property within an assessment area that directly or



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             59
     indirectly benefits from improvements, operation and maintenance, or economic promotion
             60      activities.
             61          (10) "Bond anticipation notes" means notes issued under Section 11-42-602 in
             62      anticipation of the issuance of assessment bonds.
             63          (11) "Bonds" means assessment bonds and refunding assessment bonds.
             64          (12) "Commercial area" means an area in which at least 75% of the property is devoted
             65      to the interchange of goods or commodities.
             66          (13) "Connection fee" means a fee charged by a local entity to pay for the costs of
             67      connecting property to a publicly owned sewer, storm drainage, water, gas, communications, or
             68      electrical system, whether or not improvements are installed on the property.
             69          (14) "Contract price" means:
             70          (a) the cost of acquiring an improvement, if the improvement is acquired; or
             71          (b) the amount payable to one or more contractors for the design, engineering,
             72      inspection, and construction of an improvement.
             73          (15) "Designation ordinance" means an ordinance adopted by a local entity under
             74      Section 11-42-206 designating an assessment area.
             75          (16) "Designation resolution" means a resolution adopted by a local entity under
             76      Section 11-42-206 designating an assessment area.
             77          (17) "Economic promotion activities" means activities that promote economic growth
             78      in a commercial area of a local entity, including:
             79          (a) sponsoring festivals and markets;
             80          (b) promoting business investment or activities;
             81          (c) helping to coordinate public and private actions; and
             82          (d) developing and issuing publications designed to improve the economic well-being
             83      of the commercial area.
             84          (18) "Equivalent residential unit" means a dwelling, unit, or development that is equal
             85      to a single-family residence in terms of the nature of its use or impact on an improvement to be
             86      provided in the assessment area.
             87          (19) "Governing body" means:
             88          (a) for a county, city, or town, the legislative body of the county, city, or town;
             89          (b) for a local district, the board of trustees of the local district;



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             90
         (c) for a special service district:
             91          (i) the legislative body of the county, city, or town that established the special service
             92      district, if no administrative control board has been appointed under Section 17D-1-301 ; or
             93          (ii) the administrative control board of the special service district, if an administrative
             94      control board has been appointed under Section 17D-1-301 ; and
             95          (d) for the military installation development authority created in Section 63H-1-201 ,
             96      the authority board, as defined in Section 63H-1-102 .
             97          (20) "Guaranty fund" means the fund established by a local entity under Section
             98      11-42-701 .
             99          (21) "Improved property" means property proposed to be assessed within an
             100      assessment area upon which a residential, commercial, or other building has been built.
             101          (22) "Improvement":
             102          (a) means any publicly owned infrastructure, system, or other facility that:
             103          (i) a local entity is authorized to provide; or
             104          (ii) the governing body of a local entity determines is necessary or convenient to enable
             105      the local entity to provide a service that the local entity is authorized to provide; and
             106          (b) includes facilities in an assessment area, including a private driveway, an irrigation
             107      ditch, and a water turnout, that:
             108          (i) can be conveniently installed at the same time as an infrastructure, system, or other
             109      facility described in Subsection (22)(a); and
             110          (ii) are requested by a property owner on whose property or for whose benefit the
             111      infrastructure, system, or other facility is being installed.
             112          (23) "Improvement revenues":
             113          (a) means charges, fees, impact fees, or other revenues that a local entity receives from
             114      improvements; and
             115          (b) does not include revenue from assessments.
             116          (24) "Incidental refunding costs" means any costs of issuing refunding assessment
             117      bonds and calling, retiring, or paying prior bonds, including:
             118          (a) legal and accounting fees;
             119          (b) charges of financial advisors, escrow agents, certified public accountant verification
             120      entities, and trustees;



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             121
         (c) underwriting discount costs, printing costs, the costs of giving notice;
             122          (d) any premium necessary in the calling or retiring of prior bonds;
             123          (e) fees to be paid to the local entity to issue the refunding assessment bonds and to
             124      refund the outstanding prior bonds;
             125          (f) any other costs that the governing body determines are necessary or desirable to
             126      incur in connection with the issuance of refunding assessment bonds; and
             127          (g) any interest on the prior bonds that is required to be paid in connection with the
             128      issuance of the refunding assessment bonds.
             129          (25) "Installment payment date" means the date on which an installment payment of an
             130      assessment is payable.
             131          (26) "Interim warrant" means a warrant issued by a local entity under Section
             132      11-42-601 .
             133          (27) "Jurisdictional boundaries" means:
             134          (a) for a county, the boundaries of the unincorporated area of the county; and
             135          (b) for each other local entity, the boundaries of the local entity.
             136          (28) "Local district" means a local district under Title 17B, Limited Purpose Local
             137      Government Entities - Local Districts.
             138          (29) "Local entity" means a county, city, town, special service district, local district,
             139      military installation development authority created in Section 63H-1-201 , or other political
             140      subdivision of the state.
             141          (30) "Local entity obligations" means assessment bonds, refunding assessment bonds,
             142      interim warrants, and bond anticipation notes issued by a local entity.
             143          (31) "Mailing address" means:
             144          (a) a property owner's last-known address using the name and address appearing on the
             145      last completed real property assessment roll of the county in which the property is located; and
             146          (b) if the property is improved property:
             147          (i) the property's street number; or
             148          (ii) the post office box, rural route number, or other mailing address of the property, if
             149      a street number has not been assigned.
             150          (32) "Net improvement revenues" means all improvement revenues that a local entity
             151      has received since the last installment payment date, less all amounts payable by the local entity



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             152
     from those improvement revenues for operation and maintenance costs.
             153          (33) "Operation and maintenance costs":
             154          (a) means the costs that a local entity incurs in operating and maintaining
             155      improvements in an assessment area, whether or not those improvements have been financed
             156      under this chapter; and
             157          (b) includes service charges, administrative costs, ongoing maintenance charges, and
             158      tariffs or other charges for electrical, water, gas, or other utility usage.
             159          (34) "Overhead costs" means the actual costs incurred or the estimated costs to be
             160      incurred by a local entity in connection with an assessment area for appraisals, legal fees, filing
             161      fees, financial advisory charges, underwriting fees, placement fees, escrow, trustee, and paying
             162      agent fees, publishing and mailing costs, costs of levying an assessment, recording costs, and
             163      all other incidental costs.
             164          (35) "Prior bonds" means the assessment bonds that are refunded in part or in whole by
             165      refunding assessment bonds.
             166          (36) "Prior assessment ordinance" means the ordinance levying the assessments from
             167      which the prior bonds are payable.
             168          (37) "Prior assessment resolution" means the resolution levying the assessments from
             169      which the prior bonds are payable.
             170          (38) "Project engineer" means the surveyor or engineer employed by or private
             171      consulting engineer engaged by a local entity to perform the necessary engineering services for
             172      and to supervise the construction or installation of the improvements.
             173          (39) "Property" includes real property and any interest in real property, including water
             174      rights and leasehold rights.
             175          (40) "Property price" means the price at which a local entity purchases or acquires by
             176      eminent domain property to make improvements in an assessment area.
             177          (41) "Provide" or "providing," with reference to an improvement, includes the
             178      acquisition, construction, reconstruction, renovation, maintenance, repair, operation, and
             179      expansion of an improvement.
             180          (42) "Public agency" means:
             181          (a) the state or any agency, department, or division of the state; and
             182          (b) a political subdivision of the state.



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Senate Committee Amendments 2-10-2011 rd/va
             183
         (43) "Reduced payment obligation" means the full obligation of an owner of property
             184      within an assessment area to pay an assessment levied on the property after the assessment has
             185      been reduced because of the issuance of refunding assessment bonds, as provided in Section
             186      11-42-608 .
             187          (44) "Refunding assessment bonds" means assessment bonds that a local entity issues
             188      under Section 11-42-607 to refund, in part or in whole, assessment bonds.
             189          (45) "Reserve fund" means a fund established by a local entity under Section
             190      11-42-702 .
             191          (46) "Service" means:
             192          (a) water, sewer, storm drainage, garbage collection, library, recreation,
             193      communications, or electric service;
             194          (b) economic promotion activities; or
             195          (c) any other service that a local entity is required or authorized to provide.
             196          (47) "Special service district" has the same meaning as defined in Section 17D-1-102 .
             197          (48) "Unimproved property" means property upon which no residential, commercial, or
             198      other building has been built.
             199          (49) "Voluntary assessment area" means an assessment area that contains only property
             200      whose owners have voluntarily consented to an assessment.
             201          Section 2. Section 11-42-205 is amended to read:
             202           11-42-205. Unimproved property.
             203          (1) (a) Before a local entity may designate an assessment area in which more than 75%
             204      of the property proposed to be assessed consists of unimproved property, and designation of the
             205      assessment area would require that the local entity S. [ obtain a bond ] issue bonds .S , the local
             205a      entity shall obtain:
             206          (i) an appraisal:
             207          (A) of the unimproved property;
             208          (B) from an appraiser who is a member of the Appraisal Institute;
             209          (C) addressed to the local entity or a financial institution; and
             210          (D) verifying that the market value of the property, after completion of the proposed
             211      improvements, is at least three times the amount of the assessments proposed to be levied
             212      against the unimproved property; or
             213          (ii) the most recent taxable value of the unimproved property from the assessor of the



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             214
     county in which the unimproved property is located, verifying that the taxable value of the
             215      property, after completion of the proposed improvements, is at least three times the amount of
             216      the assessments proposed to be levied against the unimproved property.
             217          (b) If the owner of the unimproved property has entered into a construction loan
             218      acceptable to the local entity to finance the facilities to be constructed or installed on the
             219      unimproved property, the market value of the unimproved property, as determined under
             220      Subsection (1)(a)(i), may include, at the local entity's option:
             221          (i) the principal amount of the construction loan; or
             222          (ii) the value of the unimproved property with the facilities to be financed by the
             223      construction loan, as determined by an appraisal of:
             224          (A) the unimproved property; and
             225          (B) the facilities proposed to be constructed.
             226          (2) With respect to the designation of an assessment area described in Subsection
             227      (1)(a), the local entity may require:
             228          (a) financial information acceptable to the governing body with respect to the owner's
             229      ability to pay the proposed assessments;
             230          (b) a financial institution's commitment securing, to the governing body's satisfaction,
             231      the owners' obligation to pay the proposed assessments; or
             232          (c) a development plan, approved by a qualified, independent third party, describing
             233      the plan of development and the financial feasibility of the plan, taking into account growth
             234      trends, absorption studies, and other demographic information applicable to the unimproved
             235      property.
             236          (3) Information that an owner provides to a local entity under Subsection (2)(a) is not a
             237      record for purposes of Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management
             238      Act.





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