as introduced - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 02/09/2010 01:43am
A bill for an act
relating to municipalities; authorizing municipalities to establish street
improvement districts and apportion street improvement fees within districts;
requiring adoption of street improvement plan; authorizing collection of fees;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 435.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms
have the meanings given them.
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(b) "Governing body" means the city council of a municipality.
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(c) "Improvements" means construction, reconstruction, and facility upgrades
involving: right-of-way acquisition; paving; curbs and gutters; bridges and culverts and
their repair; milling; overlaying; drainage and storm sewers; excavation; base work;
subgrade corrections; street lighting; traffic signals; signage; sidewalks; pavement
markings; boulevard and easement restoration; impact mitigation; connection and
reconnection of utilities; turn lanes; medians; street and alley returns; retaining walls;
fences; lane additions; and fixed transit infrastructure, trails, or pathways. "Fixed transit
infrastructure" does not include commuter rail rolling stock, light rail vehicles, or
transit way buses; capital costs for park-and-ride facilities; feasibility studies, planning,
alternative analyses, environmental studies, engineering, or construction of transit ways;
or operating assistance for transit ways.
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(d) "Maintenance" means striping, seal coating, crack sealing, pavement repair,
sidewalk maintenance, signal maintenance, street light maintenance, and signage.
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(e) "Municipal street" means a street, alley, or public way in which the municipality
is the road authority with powers conferred by section 429.021.
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(f) "Municipality" means a home rule charter or statutory city.
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(g) "Street improvement district" means a geographic area designated by a
municipality within which street improvements and maintenance may be undertaken and
financed according to this section.
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A municipality may establish by ordinance municipal
street improvement districts and may defray all or part of the total costs of municipal
street improvements and maintenance by apportioning street improvement fees to all of
the parcels located in the district.
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The total costs of municipal street improvements and
maintenance must be apportioned to all parcels or tracts of land located in the established
street improvement district on a uniform basis within each classification of real estate.
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Before establishing a municipal street improvement
district or authorizing a street improvement fee, a municipality must propose and adopt a
street improvement plan that identifies and estimates the costs of proposed improvements
and maintenance for the following five years and identifies the location of the municipal
street improvement district. Notice of a public hearing on the proposed plan must be given
by mail to all affected landowners at least ten days before the hearing and posted for at
least ten days before the hearing. At the public hearing, the governing body must present
the plan and all affected landowners in attendance must have the opportunity to comment
before the governing body considers adoption of the plan.
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Revenues collected from property in a district from the
fee authorized in this section must be placed in a separate account and be used only
for projects located within that same district and identified in the municipal street
improvement district plan.
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(a) The ordinance adopted under this section
must provide for the billing and payment of the fee on a monthly, quarterly, or other basis
as directed by the governing body. The governing body may collect municipal street
improvement fees within a street improvement district for up to a maximum of 20 years.
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(b) Fees that, as of October 15 of each calendar year, have remained unpaid for at
least 30 days may be certified to the county auditor for collection as a special assessment
payable in the following calendar year against the affected property.
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A municipality may impose a municipal street
improvement fee provided in this section by ordinance. The ordinance must not be voted
on or adopted until after a public hearing has been held on the question.
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The use of the
municipal street improvement fee by a municipality does not restrict the municipality from
imposing other measures to pay the costs of local street improvements or maintenance,
except that a municipality must not impose special assessments for projects funded with
street improvement fees.
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