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HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-1967-759 r~ 1'-' ~. .- :A'" -- , '. ORDINANCE NO. 7 759 AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A POLICY ON WATER AND SEWER LINE , . EXTENSIONS; ESTABLISHING CONNECTION FEES AND INSPECTION FEES FOR PROPERTY 'HEREAFTER CONNECTED TO WATER AND SEWER MAINS; REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 383; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE, TEXAS, THAT: section 1. City to construct water and sewer lines only in public rights-of-way, or easements , The City shall construct w~ter and sewer laterals, ma1ns, and facilities under the provisions hereof only in public easements. All such l~terals, mains and facilities when con- structed shall remain ,the property of the City of La Porte, and no person shall, by the payment of the connection charge, or any other cha!ge provided for herein, acquire any interest or right in any laterals, maina, or facilities, or any portion thereof, other than the privil~ge to have their property connected thereto for water and/or sewer service in accordance with the Ordinances of the City. Section 2. A connection charge shall be made against each lot, tract, or parcel of land and the owner thereof whose water and sewer line shall be hereafter connected with any water main or sanitary sewer main in the City of La Porte, which charge shall be at the following rate~, which rates are a portion of the total cost of such water and sewer mains, to-wit: (1) $0.75 per front foot of the lot, tract, or parcel of land to which water connections may be made, plus a flat fee of: (a) On standard residential connections, a flat fee of $65.00; (b) On connections requiri~g a one-inch water meter, a flat fee of $100.00; (c) On connections requiring a one-and-one-half inch meter, a flat fee of $190.00; and (d) On connections requiring a two-inch or larger mater, at th~ actual cost of the meter and installation thereof. . , -2- . (2) $1.50 per front foot of the lot, tract or parcel of land to which sanitary sewer connections may be made, plus a $2.50 inspection fee. Section 3. New construction of water and sewer mains in partially developed areas of City , Any petition for extension of City service under the provisions hereof shall be in writing and signed by those persons in an area or subdivision desiri?g City service. It shall be filed with the City Clerk and shall indicate the name, street ~- address, lot and block number, and subdivision name, and the street frontage of each ~~gner. Each petitioner shall ~gree to connect to and use City water and sewer service, immediately following the placing in service of water and sewer mains available for service to his property. ,The petition shall ~lso contain any other information or ~greements that may be specifically required under the provisions hereof. The petition shall expressly designate one person as "chi:l.irman" who shall be the representative of the petitioners and to whom all correspondence from the City will be addressed, and who shall be responsible for notifying the peti- .. - tioners of any action taken by the City on the petition and of which he is advised by the City, and for obtaini?g additional information for the City and for getting instruments executed by petitioners in connection with requested extension of water and sewer service. (1) In those areas of the City that have been subdivided into usual size residential lots (not larger than 10,000 square feet) by a map or plat duly recorded in the office of the County Clerk, and where at least fifty per cent (50%) of the lots of the subdivided area are developed (occupied by a residence or commer- cial establishment) and are not served with City water and sewer service, the City will, upon receipt of a petition signed by owners of at least fifty per cent (50%) of the total lots so 4It' requesting, install mains if the funds are available and the project is engineeripgly practicable and economically feasible. . . . -3- (2) Upon receipt by City Clerk of a petition from the owners of property 1n an area that has been subdivided by recorded maps or plats into lots and where at least fifty per cent (50%) of the lots are not developed lots, and the developed lots are not served by City water and se~er service, if the City ; Clerk, with the advice of the C~ty E~gin~er, determines that the project is economically feasible, and e~~~neeringly practicable, and ~he,City ha~ money available, the Ci~y will bear initially the , , i cost of extending mains to provide water ,service to such area on I the condition that the owners of the developed lots pay to the City '4It in cash and in advance of the City initiati~g preliminary work on the project, an amount of money (hereinafter referred to as "advance payment") equal to the difference between the total amount of fro~t foot connection charges (as determined under the provisions hereof) assessable against the owners of the developed lots and fifty per cent (50%) of the lots in the area requesting service. Those property o~ners paying the amount of money (advance payment) necessary to mee~ the requirement of fifty per cent (50%) develop- ment shall be entitled to receive reimbursement (without interest) therefor by City solely from con~ection cha~ges collected by City from persons, other than those entitled to said reimbursement, 4It conne~ting to said mains. (3) ~he persons entitled to:~aid reimbursements shall " jointly designate in writi~g a trustee to receive reimbursements from the City toward said advance payment. The trustee shall be . responsible to the persons entitled thereto for making proper distribution of said moneys; he shall be their agent and repre- sentative and City shall not have nor incur any liability either for faili~g to collect said connection charges or for failing to pay said amounts due said trustee. rhe City shall likewise neither have nor incur any liability for any acts or omissions of said trustee. The trustee shall give written receipts to the City for sums received by him on behalf of said persons; however, '~; ~~- .~.~.. .~.:~. \ .' , . . . -4- the cancelled checks or warrants of the City purporti~g to have been endorsed by said trustee shall create a conclusive presump- tion of such paymen~ by City. (4) The petitioners, thro~gh their chairman, will be requested to pay in'cash their advance payment, as provided for above, and to either pay in cash or execute notes for the connec- tion cha!ge assessable' against their property, as determined under the provisions hereof, and each petitioner will at the same time file an application and contract for water and sewer service, pay the required connection charges as p~ovided for in Section 2 '~ hereof, and make the required service deposit. Al1.notes executed by the petitioners to secure payment of their connection charge will bear interest at the rate of six per cent (6%) per annum on the unpaid balance. The notes shall also provide that any del in- quent payments of principal and interest will bear interest at the rate of ten per cent (10%) per annum, for ten per cent (10%) attorney's fees and optional acceleration of maturity by City Clerk upon default. When the petitioners have paid the advance payment to the City in ,cash, and have either paid in cash or executed notes fo'r the connection charge to connect their proper- ties to the mains, and have made application and contract for 4It service and paid their connection cha~ges as provided for in Section 2 hereof, and made their required service deposits, City Clerk will proceed with the initiation of the project in the usual manner. (5) The'notes provided for in sub-section (4) above shall be payable either in monthly installments not to exceed twelve (12) months, provided such notes may be paid before maturity; however, no installment shall be less than $5.00, and such installments shall be added to the monthly water bill of . such person. Default on the payment of any such in~ta11ment shall authorize the Ci~y to terminate water service to such person until all delinquent amounts have been made, together with such other fees, charges and penalties as may be incurred or , J ,: ~1'~lF' .' ~\. t~ :.:s;:.:. .: .',::t. ':2' IP ..~.;; " . . . -5- accrued as a result of the turni~g off and the turni~g on of such water service and the notes executed by such person shall so provide. (6) Upon the completion of the construction of the mains, those persons who have paid their connection cha~ge or executed notes therefor and have made proper application to the City Clerk for permit, and made the required deposit and paid their connection charges, shall be connected to such line and provided water service to their property in the area. Any property owner desiri~g to make connection to said mains for service shall in '~ like manner, either pay in cash or execute notes for the connection charge computed in the manner herein provided, and upon making proper deposit and application to the City and paying their connection charges, shall be entitled to receive service from , , said water and sewer mains. (7) No person shall have a vested right to be connected to and provided water service from any line constructed under the terms hereof, but:all applications for permits authorizing such service shall be subject to the approval of the City Clerk based upon the standards as e~tablished by ordinances of the City of La porte and the ability of the City to provide the requested . service. (8) The cost of constructing mains under the provisions hereof shall include the cost of the City of acquiring all ease- ments and r~ghts~of-way necessary or convenient therefor. (9) Each person executi~g a note or notes for his part of the cost of water and/or sewer mains constructed under the provisions hereof shall at the time of executing said note also execute an instrument recordable in the Deed Records of the Clerk of the County wherein ,the property to be served is located, giving notice to all subsequent owners and tenants of said property ~ . . or any part thereof of the terms and provisions of said note, and expressly providi~g th~t no subsequent owner or tenant shall be entitled to receive water'or sewer service to said property unless . 4It. . . , . -6- and until arra~gements acceptable to the City have been made by the new owner or tenant providing for payment of the balance due on said note. Such ,instrument shall provide that such note and its provisions and the notice placed of record shall constitute a covenant running with the land until such time as the City files an instrument re~easi~g the indebtedness secured by said note. The recording fees for fili~g said notice and the release of said indebtedness shall be borne and paid for to City by the property owner at the time he executes said note. City agrees to file a release of said 'indebtedness when the same has been paid in full, and the City Clerk is hereby authorized to execute any such release on behalf of the City. In the event the property to be served by the water and sewer mains to be constructed is homestead property, then and in that event such notice of indebted- ness shall be executed ,by both the hus~and and the wife who are the owners of the property and liv~~g thereon, and the same shall be acknowledged by the wife separately and apart from her husband, and by the husband, in the manner required by law prior to the construction of the lines or the making of the connection for service. (10) In the event of a dispute or doubt as to the amount of connection charge to be paid for a particular property or tbe method of computing same, the City Clerk, with the advice of the City E~gineeri shall apply that charge or method of computation that most nearly applies to the particular property and his decision in the matter shall be 'final. Section 4. Sewer connec~ion required In areas in which the City constructs sewers under the provisions hereof~ all property on which there is located water disposal facilities, including domestic, industrial and commercial, and all houses and business establishments, within 300 feet of any such sewer that are, not then serviced by public sewers, shall, within thirty (30) dayS after receipt of written demand by the City Director of Public Health, install a sewer connection, if . . -7- e such property is not already provided therewith, and make applica- tion for a permit to connect, and upon receipt of such permit, connect such waste disposal facilities to such sewer. When such connection is made, the private disposal facilities will be immediately abandoned, excepti~g only those facilities of commercial and industrial connections as may be required for pre- treatment by ordinance of the City or regulations of the Department for pre-treatment of certain kinds of waste. SectionS. Connection charge, front foot definition, and payment (1) The connection charges provided herein for water 4It and sewer service shall be paid by the owner of any property that is hereafter connected to any City water or sewer main or trun~ line. (2) The front foot rates shall normally apply to property fronting on streets in areas subdivided into lots or tracts of land, rectangular or approximately rectangular in shape. On lots or tracts of land which extend through from one street to another, with front~ge on both streets, and where the distance between, ~he property lines abutti~g the streets is 260 feet or more, then the cha~ges herein provided for shall be . paid,on both frontages when a connection is secured to the lot or tract. Where lots or tracts are irr~gular in size or shape, then the connection charge shall be based upon equivalent recta~gu~ar lots or tracts using one front foot for each 120 square feet of area. (3) For'lots or tracts that are intended to be used for, or are being used for, school,.~hurch, institutional, business, commercial or industrial purposes, including apartment, shopping center, and other multi-building and multi-tenant projects, the connection charge shall be, in the case of water, . $0.75 per 150 square feet of connected area served, plus a flat fee per connection, as provided in Section 2 hereof, and all applicable inspection fees, provided, however, that in no event '. . . -8- shall suqh connection 'cha~ge be 'less, in the case of water, than an amount equal to $0.75 per front foot, nor more than an amount equal to the total cost of constructing required water mains to provide water service to such property. In the case of sewer lines, the lots or tracts that are intended to be used for, or are bei~g used for, the purposes noted in the precedi~g paragraph, the connection charge shall be $1.50 per 150 square feet of connected area served, provided, however, that in no event shall 'such connection charge be less than an amount equal to $1.50 p~r front foot, nor more than an 4It amount equal to the total cost of constructing required sewer mains to provide sewer service to such property. The area served shall be the area developed and improved, including off-street.parki~g areas, but shall not include areas intended for future development. As to those undeveloped and unimproved areas for which a connection charge is not paid, a connection charge in an' amount determined in accordance with the provisions of the ordinances of the City of La Porte will be collected at such time .as they are developed. ,The City will accept ownership and maintenance of those water lin~s, on the source of intake side of the water meter or ~ meters, constructed within the area served when such lines are located within easements dedicated or conveyed to the City at no cost to it by a duly recorded plat or by an instrument meeting the approval of the City Attorney, and the lines located therein are conveyed to the City, at no cost to it, by a bill of sale meeti~g the approval of the City Attorney. The City will not accept ownership nor maintenance of water lines and facilities located on the customer side of the meter. (4) The owner of a buildi~g occupying more than one building lot will pay the applicable connection charge for all __6 ~.' as a limitation, parking lots, garages, storage areas, etc. .~ - . . . -9- No cha~ge, other than meter and service installation charges, will be made for subsequent connections for buildings erected on the lots for which proper connection charges as pro- vided for herein have once been paid. In the absence of factual proof of such payment;, City records shall be considered as correct and final. Provided, however, no such connection shall be made until authorization therefor has been obtained from the City Clerk. (4a) No cha~ge, other than meter and service installation charges, will be made for connections for buildings erected on 4It lots owned by persons,' or their assignees, who have paid for the installation of lines servi~g said lots, prior to the effective date of this ordinance. In the absence of factual proof of such payment, City records shall be considered as correct and final. Provided,. however, no such connection shall be made until authoriza- tion therefor has been' obtained from the City Clerk. (5) A parcel of tract for which a proper connection charge is once paid shall not, on reconnection for any cause (excepting default in payment to City of charges made by it), be required to pay a second connection charge even though the reconnect ion be at a different location or in a different street, ~ such reconnection to be at the sole cost and expense of the reconnecti~g property. (6) In the event of a dispute or doubt as to the amount of connection charge to be paid for a particular property or the method of computing same, the City Clerk, with the advice of the City Engineer, shall apply that cha~ge or method of computation that most nearly applies to the particular property and his decision in the matter shall be final. Section 6. City's lien against property to secure payment of connection charges All property-owners requesting by petition the extension ~ of City water and/or sewer mains to provide service to their property, and all property owners desiring to make application and contract for service from any City water and/or sewer main, . 4It ~ . . -10- shall execute an instrument granti~g to the City a lien against the property to be connected to secure to the City the payment of the required connection cha~ges when such cha~ges are to be paid in installments. This section' shall not apply to those property owners who pay such cha~ges in cash at the time of making application'and contract for service. Such instrument shall be s~gned and acknowle~ged by the property owner:. and shall contain a legal descriptionof'the property to be connected. In the event the property involved is homestead~ the instrument granting the lien shall be s~gned by the husband and wife record owners, and acknowledged by each of them in the manner prescribed by law. All such instruments shall be recorded in the Mechanic's and Materialmen's Lien Records of the County Clerk of the county wherein the property described is located. In the case of homestead property, the instrument shall be executed and acknowledged before the construction of the line to provide service to their property is commenced or tpe connection is made. Section 7., Release of lien The City Clerk is hereby authorized to execute releases on b~half of the City of La Porte of any and all liens created under the provisions of the for~going sections. The City Clerk shall have no right to exercise the authority herein granted unless and until he has satisfied himself that the debt or portion thereof secured by the lien and for which a release is requested has been paid in full to the City, and any such lien shall be released only insofar as it affects the property for which the debt secured thereby has been paid in full. Section 8. Billing for payments of connection charges.". Billing for payments of connection charges will be by the department. Delinquency will be dealt with in the same manner as fpr delinquency in payment of water service, by cutting off water . service to force payment of delinquent accounts. All payments will be made to the same offices collecting water service charges. . . .' -11- Section 9. Pro erty owner desiring extension of water an sewer ma1ns to serve 1S property to make application to the City Clerk Any property owner or owners who desire an extension of a City water and/or sewer main or mains to serve his or their property may make written application to the City Clerk requesting such' extension, and supplyi~g all information requested in the application form to be furnished by City Clerk, in order for City Clerk to properly consider such request. If the City Clerk, with the advice of the City E~gineer, finds that the requested extension is e~gipeeringly feasible and that it is economically 4It practicable consideri~g the cost of the project to the City and the ~nticipated revenue therefrom, and if the utilities Department has funds that may be used or appropriated for such project, the City: Clerk may approve such project. If the City Clerk approves the proje9t'and it is not to be constructed by City forces and the construction cost is estimated to exceed $1,000, then the project shall be advertised for bids in the manner provided for in the City Charter. ~ ,Section"IO. Same--Applicant's share of cost of water main extension to be paid in cash when ,project approved; provision for partial reimbursement by other property owners Such'property owner or owners (hereinafter called "Applicant"), if the project is approved by the said City Clerk, shall, in advance of construction, and in the event bids are to be taken, in advance of advertising for bids, pay in cash the total property owner's share of the cost of such extension, as determined under the provisions of this ordinance. The amount to be paid by such Applicant shall be the total front footage of property (as determiped under the provisions of this ordinance) capable of being served by service lines connected to the proposed extended mains, multiplied by the applicable front foot or per acre 'rate as established under this ordinance. Any Applicant who . is required to pay more than his proportionate share of the cost of extendi~g a City water main to serve his property under the e, . . -12- terms hereof, upon request in writing, may be entitled to reim- bursement from those intervening non-participati~g property owners who subsequently request the installation of service lines from such extension for their proportionate share of such cost as determined under the provisions of this ordinance. This requested reimbursement to Applicant by subsequent connectors to such main will be made ,only by those property owners whose connected property 'lies between the commencement of the extension and the termination of the main built to serve the property of Applicant. The Applicant wil~ not be entitled to reimbursement from any property 4It owner making a connection to an extension beyond the termination of the main constructed to serve applicant's property. The total amount of reimbursement any such applicant shall receive shall never exceed the total property owner's share paid by him for extendi~g the main less his proportionate part thereof for all property owned by him and served or capable of bei~g served by service lines connected to such extension. Section 11. Same--Provis~on for charges against intervening non-participating property owners When the project is approved by the City Clerk, Applicant shall pay the required advance payment in cash to City. . If'Applicant so desires, he may, in writing, request City Clerk to establish a connection charge in his favor ~gainst intervening non-participati~g property owners subsequently making application for service connections to the extended main. Upon receipt of such request, City Clerk shall establish on the records of said department a connection' charge in favor of applicant stating the total amount of reimbursement to which Applicant is entitled, the connection charge on a per front foot or per acre basis, giving the l~gal description of the property or lots subject to such charge, and City Clerk w~ll record a notice in the Deed . Records of the county wherein the line is to be constructed, advising all ownerS and' subsequent owners of the property subject to such charge, of the existence thereof and of this Ordinance. e e . -13- The ,connection charges and the method of determining how much each property owner will pay shall be determined by City Clerk under the provisions of this Ordinance. City Clerk is hereby authorized 'to execute such notice on behalf of the City, and when such cha~ges for a particular property have been paid, the City Clerk is authorized to execute and deliver a recordable release therefor on behalf of the City to the owner of such property. City, Clerk will collect from the applicant, at the time application is made for extension ~f City mains, a sufficient sum to cover the cost of recording such notice. . Section 12. Same--Reimb~rsement payments collected by City to be paid direcbly to applicant All such reimbursement payments will be collected by the City from each such subsequent connector prior to connecting or authorizing a connection of a service line or lines to said main extension to serve his respective property. Reimbursement payments collected by City for the benefit of applicant will be paid directly to applicant as provided for herein. Applicant shall ~gree that City shall not have nor incur any liability for failure to collect or pay over to applicant any such sums, or for permitting or authorizi~g a service line connection to such main ~ extension withoutrequiri~g payment of such charge. If more than one person is or becomes entitled to receive such authorized reimbursement payments~ those entitled to such payments shall designate in writing one person to receive such payments on behalf of all others entitled thereto, and in such event, the City'shall deliver no payments until such person is so des~gnated. Applicant"s right to reimbursement for such connection charges shall cease and terminate at the expiration of ten years from the date such notice thereof is recorded by City Clerk. Section 13. Same--City mayor may not participate in cost of extension of mains . , The decision of whether or not the City will participate in the cost of extending any water or sewer main to 4a' e ~ - - - --- . . . -14- serve the property of an applicant under the provisions hereof will rest finally and solely within the discretion of the City Commission, subject to the provisions hereof. Section 14. Same--Title, ownership and control of all mains constructed under this Chapter to be in City; all persons must make applica- tion for service and pay tap fee Title, ownership, control and management of all water mains, extensions, and appurtenances constructed under the pro- visions hereof, shall be and remain vested solely in the City of La Porte. Any property owner desiri~g the City to install a service line thereto will be required to comply with all of the provisions and pay all of the fees and charges rquired under the provisions of this ordinance and any and all other pertinent ordinances of the City of La Porte. No person, including applicant, shall receive water or sewer service from any main constructed under the provisions hereof until proper application for service has been made, connection 'cha~ges as provided for in Section 2 hereof have been paid, and required bill, guarantee deposit, if required in this specific case, made to the City's , , ' Utilities Department. Section IS. Establishment of "Utility Fund--Water ,and Sewer Improvements" account There is hereby established in the Utilities Department of the City of La porte, a "Utility Fund--Water and Sewer Improve- mentsll account. The City Commission of the City of La Porte may, from time to time, appropriate moneys to this account, which shall be, used to pay the City's portion of the cost of the extension of water and sewer mains within the City, as provided in this ordinance. In turn, there shall be credited to this account, all connection fees and inspection fees, to the end that these funds may be thereafter used for further improvements and extensions to the City of La Porte utilities system. Section 16. Repeal of City of La Porte Ordinance N.o. 383 City of La Porte Ordinance No. 383 is expressly repealed. . . ". . . ". -15- Section 17. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect, from and after its passage and approval. PASSED AND APPROVED, this the 6th day of March , 1967. CITY OF LA PORTE, TEXAS By: ATTEST: ~ ~ ~~/..........)'-~ 1.6......4. C ty Clerk , APPROVED: td ~ ~ Attorney . :;/ dL-p City E~gineer I , 1 l -'~ ----.