Alameda Municipal Code § 22-17 Proceedings to Construct Sidewalks, Sewers, Etc

All streets, avenues, lanes, alleys, places or courts, in the City, now open and dedicated, or which may hereafter be opened and dedicated for public use, shall be deemed and held to be open public streets, lanes, alleys, places or courts, for the purpose of this section, and the Council is hereby invested with jurisdiction to order to be done therein any of the work mentioned in this article under the proceedings hereinafter described.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-221)

Whenever the public interest or convenience may require, the Council is hereby authorized and empowered to order the construction or replacement in any one (1) or more of the streets, lanes, alleys, courts, places or public ways of the City, of sidewalks, curbs, gutters and sewers.

The City Council may include in one (1) proceeding, and under one (1) resolution of intention, any of the different kinds of work mentioned in this article, and any number of streets, public ways, or portions thereof, contiguous or otherwise, and it may except therefrom any of the work already done upon a street to the official grade.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-222)

Before ordering any work done or improvement made, which is authorized by this article, the Council shall pass a resolution of intention so to do referring to the street by its lawful or official name, or the name by which it is commonly known. It shall not be necessary to describe in detail such work or improvement but in such resolution reference may be made to the specifications, plans, cross sections, or profiles or any or all thereof, on file in the office of the City Street Superintendent, for further particulars and a description of such work or improvement. The resolution shall contain also a notice of the day, hour and place when and where any persons having any objections to the proposed work or improvement may appear before the Council and show cause why the proposed improvement should not be carried out in accordance with the resolution; the time shall not be less than thirteen (13) nor more than forty (40) days from the date of passage of the resolution. Whenever any such proposed work or improvement is, in the opinion of the Council, of more than local or ordinary public benefit, the Council may make the cost and expense of such work or improvement chargeable upon a district, which district it shall in such resolution of intention describe by specifying the exterior boundaries or showing a plat thereof and declare it to be the district to be benefited by such work or improvement and to be assessed to pay the cost and expenses thereof.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-223)

The resolution referred to in the preceding subsection and all other notices provided herein to be published, shall be published at least once, unless hereinafter otherwise provided, in the official paper. After the adoption of the resolution the Street Superintendent shall cause to be conspicuously posted in such streets or portions thereof in which any such work is to be done or improvement made, not more than three hundred (300′) feet apart, and not less than three (3) in all, notices of the passage of the resolution. When an assessment district is established in the resolution of intention, such notices shall also be posted along two-thirds (⅔) in number of the streets and parts of streets within the district, and not more than three hundred (300′) feet in distance apart; but a failure to post any such notice shall not be held to invalidate the proceedings nor affect in any manner the validity of any assessment levied hereunder. The notices shall be headed, ″NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT,″ printed in one (1″) inch type or in letters of not less than one (1″) inch in height, and shall, in legible characters, state the fact of the passage of the resolution, its date of approval, and briefly the general character of the work or improvements proposed, and shall refer to the resolution for further particulars.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-224)

At any time not later than the time set for hearing objections the owner of any real property liable to be assessed for the proposed improvement may file with the City Clerk, addressed to the Council, a written protest against the proposed improvement or the extent of the district proposed to be assessed, or both, and no other protests shall be considered. At the time set for hearing protests, or such time as such hearing may be adjourned, the Council shall hear such protest or protests and pass upon the same, and its decisions thereupon shall be final and conclusive, whereupon it shall acquire jurisdiction to order the proposed work.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-225)

The affidavit of the proprietor, foreperson or clerk of the newspaper publishing the resolution showing such publication, and the affidavit of the Street Superintendent, or of the person or persons posting such notices, shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk, in all cases where notices are required to be published, posted or mailed.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-226)

If no protest is made, or upon the overruling of such protest or protests, if made, the Council may pass a resolution ordering the work, and directing the Street Superintendent to do such work and make such improvement in such streets, avenues, lanes, alleys, courts, places or public ways or other property of the City; provided, the owners of three-fourths (¾) of the area of lots and lands liable to be assessed, or their agents, who shall make oath that they are such owners or agents, may, within ten (10) days after the passage of the resolution ordering the work, elect to take and enter into a written contract to make the improvement under the specifications and subject to such regulations as may be provided by ordinance. Should the owners fail to elect to take the work and to enter into such a contract within the ten (10) days aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Street Superintendent to proceed with the making of the improvement.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-227)

Upon the completion of the work or improvement, the Street Superintendent shall compute the cost of such work or improvement and assess the property benefited thereby as follows, to-wit:

a. If the assessment is to be made on the frontage plan he/she shall assess the benefits accruing to the property fronting or butting upon such work or improvement in proportion to its frontage. Whenever the improvement is to be assessed upon a district, the Street Superintendent shall make a diagram of the property benefited and proposed to be assessed, as described in the resolution of intention. Such diagram shall show each lot, piece or parcel of land, and the relative location of same to the improvement and he/she shall estimate upon the land, lots or portions of lands within the assessment district, as shown by the diagram, the benefits accruing from the improvement, and to be received by each such lot, portion of lot, piece or subdivision of land, and in so doing shall assess the total sum upon the several pieces, parcels, lots or portions of lots and subdivisions of land in the assessment district, to-wit: Upon each respectively in proportion to the estimated benefits to be received by each of the several lots, portions of lots or subdivisions of land. The amount of such assessment shall become a lien against the property so assessed as of the date of its recordation as hereinafter provided, and shall thereupon become due and payable to the City of Alameda. The cost of doing such work or making such improvement in front of property owned by the City or by the United States, or the State of California, or a school district or other public agency, and devoted to public use, and the difference between the total cost and expenses of doing such work, or making such improvement and the portion thereof assessed as herein provided, may be paid by the City out of such fund as the Council shall direct, or charged against the balance of the district created in the improvement proceeding.

b. Where any work mentioned in this section is done on one side of the center line of any street, or sewering or resewering is ordered to be done on only one (1) side of any street for any length thereof, the assessment for the expenses thereof, if the same has been done under the frontage plan and not under the district plan, shall be made only upon the lots and lands fronting nearest upon that side of the street and for intervening sections only upon the two (2) quarter blocks joining and cornering upon that side.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-229)

The Street Superintendent shall provide a suitable record book entitled "Assessments and Liens for Public Work or Improvements." In the book shall be entered the name of the owner, if known, of each lot or portion thereof assessed (if such owner is unknown the word "unknown" shall be substituted for the name of the owner); a description of such property as the same appears on the Assessor's books of the City; the amount assessed against the property; the date of the assessment; the penalty for delinquency in the payment thereof; the total amount chargeable against the property at date of sale thereof, if sold; the date of sale; name of purchaser; date of redemption from such sale; name of redemptioner; amount paid to redeem same, and date of deed to City if made.

No error in the name of the property owner and no error in the description of the property shall affect the validity of the lien provided for in this section, provided that the description is such that the property referred to may be identified therefrom.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-229)

When the entries in the book, respecting any street have been made by the Street Superintendent, as provided herein, he/she shall cause a notice thereof to be published at least once in the official paper, and within fifteen (15) days after the date of the first publication, he/she shall also mail a copy thereof to each property owner assessed, at his/her place of residence or business if known to him/her.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-2210)

Any property owner affected by proceedings taken under this section feeling aggrieved by any act or determination of the Street Superintendent, or the Council in relation thereto, or, who may claim that the work or improvement has not been done or made in a workmanlike manner, or having any objection to the correctness or legality of the entries in the record book by the Street Superintendent may, within thirty (30) days of the date of the first publication of the notice provided in the preceding subsection, make and file with the City Clerk an objection in writing which shall briefly specify the grounds of his/her objection or protest. All such objections and protests shall be heard at the regular meeting of the Council next succeeding the expiration of the time for filing the same or the Council may at such meeting fix a time and place therefor. Upon hearing such objection or protest, the Council may remedy or correct any error or informality in the proceedings, and revise and correct any of the acts or determination of the Street Superintendent, relative to the work, and may confirm, amend, set aside, alter, modify or correct the charges entered in the book in such manner as to it shall seem just. The decisions and determinations of the Council in such matters shall be final and conclusive upon all persons entitled to object or protest under the provisions of this subsection.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-2211)

Any action to contest the validity of an assessment levied by the Council under the provisions of this section must be commenced within thirty (30) days after the decision and determination of the Council of the matters mentioned in the preceding subsection or within thirty (30) days after the commission of the act complained of, as the case may be; and any appeal taken from a final judgment in such action shall be perfected within thirty (30) days after the entry thereof

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-2212)

No lien herein provided for shall be extinguished until the amount thereof has been paid in full or a valid deed of the property subject thereto is given by the Street Superintendent as hereinafter provided.

The Street Superintendent shall cause to be published at least once in the official paper, a list of the liens remaining due. The list shall contain the name of the owner of each parcel of property upon which there is due any assessment under this section, or if the name of such owner does not appear in the book entitled, "Assessments and Liens for Public Work or Improvements," then the fact that the lien is entered against "Unknown Owner," a description of the property, and the total amount necessary to satisfy such lien, with a notice that unless such lien is paid in full before 12:00 noon on the first Monday of the month next succeeding the month in which the list is published, ten (10%) percent of the amount of such lien shall be added thereto for delinquency, and that upon the first Tuesday of the month next succeeding the month in which the list is published, ten (10%) percent of the amount of such lien shall be added thereto for delinquency, and that upon the first Tuesday of the month next succeeding the month in which each lien is published, each parcel of property against which a lien remains unpaid, will, at the hour of 10:00 a.m. at the office of the City Street Superintendent, by operation of law and the declaration of the Street Superintendent, be sold to the City of Alameda for the amount of such lien and delinquency penalty. The Street Superintendent shall also at least fifteen (15) days before the sale provided for herein cause to be mailed a copy of the notice directed to the owner of the property to be sold at his/her place of residence, or business, if known. The Street Superintendent shall enter in the record book the date of each of the sales, the amount for which sold, and that the same was sold to the City of Alameda. Any error in the name of the owner in the notice or record book will not affect the validity of the assessment or lien.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-2213)

Whenever property has been sold for any assessment under this section and remains unredeemed, the Assessor of the City shall enter upon the assessment book of the City, immediately after the description of the property assessed for municipal taxes, the fact that the property has been sold to the City, and the date of such sale. Upon all bills or statements of or for taxes accruing on the property, or the execution to the City of a deed therefor, shall be distinctly and legibly written, printed, or stamped, the words, "Sold for Assessment," and also the date of such sale.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-2214)

A redemption of any parcel of property sold for delinquent assessment hereunder may be made at any time within one (1) year from the date of sale, by paying to the City of Alameda the amount for which the property is sold, and in addition thereto, five (5%) percent thereof if paid within six (6) months from date of sale, and ten (10%) percent if paid within twelve (12) months. When redemption is made the Street Superintendent shall note that fact in the book entitled "Assessments and Liens for Public Work or Improvements," in an appropriate column, entering therein the date of redemption, the person by whom redeemed, and the amount paid. At the expiration of twelve (12) months from the date of sale, the Street Superintendent shall execute a deed to the City of Alameda of the property sold, in which shall be recited a description of the property sold, the name of the owner thereof, as it appears in the book entitled, "Assessments and Liens for Public Work or Improvements," a statement that such property was sold for delinquent lien for such work or improvement, the amount for which the property was sold, together with all penalties thereon, and the date of sale. The deed shall convey absolute title to the property therein described and be prima facie evidence of all matters therein recited and the regularity of all proceedings prior to the execution thereof.

(Ord. No. 535 N.S. § 5-2215)