Sacramento Municipal Code Art. I General

This chapter is enacted by the city council pursuant to its powers as a chartered city by Article XI of the California Constitution. (Prior code § 55.01.101)

The purpose of this chapter is to provide procedures under which the extra costs incurred by the city in providing additional maintenance service to public property may be charged as service fees to the owners of real property specially benefited by such additional maintenance service. The council finds and determines:

A. That certain additional maintenance services to public property must be provided on an area-wide basis throughout defined geographical areas of the city in order to efficiently and effectively render said services; and

B. That fairness to all taxpayers of the city requires that geographic areas specially benefitted from additional maintenance services provided by the city should be charged on an equitable basis for the provisions of such services through fees imposed and collected as provided by this chapter. (Prior code § 55.01.102)

This chapter shall not be used by the city council for any proceeding to provide for the construction of any public improvement, or the acquisition of any property for public use, or both, wherein said proceeding would be subject to provisions of Article XVI, Section 19 of the California Constitution. (Prior code § 55.01.103)

As used in this chapter, "maintenance benefit area" means an area of fixed boundaries which the city council has created pursuant to this chapter. (Prior code § 55.01.104)

As used in this chapter "additional maintenance service" or "maintenance service" means any service rendered by the city in maintaining public property which is in addition to the level of service generally provided for comparable public property not included in a maintenance benefit area and which the city council has found to be of special benefit to properties within a specific geographical area of the city. The terms shall also include the provision of any public service by the city which the city council has found to be of special benefit to properties within a specific geographical area of the city which is not made generally available to all areas of the city and which does not specially benefit all areas of the city. (Prior code § 55.01.105)

As used in this chapter, the term "service fee" means a periodic fee charged and collected by the city from each owner of real property within a maintenance benefit area for the purpose of defraying the costs incurred by the city in providing additional service to public property within the maintenance benefit area. Said costs shall include the reasonable administrative and legal expenses incurred by the city in the formation of the maintenance benefit area and the levy and collection of service fees thereunder, but shall exclude the reasonable value of any comparable service generally provided throughout the city for which the additional maintenance service is substituted. (Prior code § 55.01.106)

As used in this chapter, "change of geographical boundary area" means annexation of territory to an existing maintenance benefit area, or detachment of territory from an existing maintenance benefit area. (Prior code § 55.01.107)