CHAPTER 292
SUBURBAN COMMUNITY CODE
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 123, VOLUME 45, LAWS OF DELAWARE, RELATING TO SUBURBAN COMMUNITY CODE, BY EXTENDING SAID ACT TO INCLUDE STORM SEWERS; CHANGING THE TIME FOR FILING PETITIONS THEREUNDER; CHANGING TIME FOR LEVY COURT TO ACT; AUTHORIZING USE OF GENERAL FUNDS OF THE LEVY COURT UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; CHANGING THE LANGUAGE OF A CERTAIN PART OF SECTION 14 THEREOF; INSERTING A SUBSTITUTE SECTION 20 THEREIN; EXTENDING THE TIME FOR ENTERING LIENS; EXTENDING THE TIME FOR GIVING NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT AND FIXING THE TIME MORE DEFINITELY FOR COMPUTING INTEREST.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met (two-thirds of all members elected to each House thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. That Chapter 123, Volume 45, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing the last six words, beginning with the word "sidewalks", of the first paragraph of Section 2 thereof and by substituting in lieu thereof the following words:
"sidewalks, installation of surface drainage and installation of storm sewers,"
Section 2. That Chapter 123, Volume 45, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing all of Section 3 thereof and substituting in lieu thereof a new section as follows:
"Section 3. Petition to Levy Court Contents Thereof; When May be Presented and by Whom:--During the months of September and October of any year, the freeholders owning fifty per cent or more of the front foot of property abutting said contemplated improvement or improvements in said suburban community may present a petition to the Levy Court which said petition shall set forth (a) that in the opinion of the signers of said petition, said community shall be improved by the laying, repairing or completion of sidewalks or streets, installation of surface drainage and installation of storm sewers, or any one of said improvements; and (b) requesting the Levy Court to proceed in accordance with the provisions of this Act to issue bonds to provide the money for said improvements. Each and every such petition when and as presented as hereinabove provided shall have attached thereto as a part thereof a drawing showing the street layout and the extent of the improvements, which said drawing shall be obtained from the said Highway Department."
Section 3. That Chapter 123, Volume 45, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing all of Section 4 thereof and substituting in lieu thereof a new section as follows:
"Section 4. Levy Court to Determine if Community is `Suburban Community'; Time for Determination: Within 15 days after receipt by the Levy Court of the survey and plot as hereinafter provided in Section 5 hereof the Levy Court shall meet and determine whether said community is a suburban community as provided in Section 2 of Chapter 123, Volume 45, Laws of Delaware."
Section 4. That Chapter 123, Volume 45, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing all of Section 12 thereof and by substituting in lieu thereof a new section as follows:
"Section 12. Issuance of Bonds by the Levy Court; Terms and Conditions Thereof; Use of General Funds of Levy Court:--Provided the vote of the community is in the affirmative, the Levy Court shall promptly meet and by resolution authorize the issuance of bonds, except as hereinafter specifically provided, to defray the expenses of the improvement or improvements favored by the freeholders of said community. Said resolution shall also state the total amount of said bond issue which said amount shall be determined from an estimate submitted to the Levy Court by the State Highway Department and said amount may be in the amount of said estimate and up to ten per cent thereover, the purposes for the issue, the date of maturity, or that the bonds shall mature serially or be retired by lot, as the case may be, and all other terms and conditions under which said bonds are to be issued. Said Levy Court, before deciding upon the terms and conditions of said bond issue, shall seek the advice of at least two substantial bankers or brokers in Delaware accustomed to deal in municipal, county or state bond issues. In the event that the estimate or estimates from the State Highway Department, as hereinabove provided, after making provision for ten per cent over and above estimated costs is or are less than Twenty Thousand Dollars, the Levy Court may use monies in its own general fund to defray costs of construction.
Section 5. That Chapter 123, Volume 45, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing so much of lines 7 and 8 of Section 14 thereof which now reads "Special Fund Created in Section 30 hereof" and enacting and inserting in lieu thereof the following words:
"Special Sinking Fund created in Section 28 hereof".
Section 6. That Chapter 123, Volume 45, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing all of Section 20 thereof and substituting in lieu thereof a new section as follows:
"Section 20. Assessment on Real Property in Suburban Community; Time for Making Thereof; Basis for Making; Purpose of Assessment:--Not later than 30 days after the date of receipt of the final contract costs from the State Highway Department by the Levy Court, but in no event more than eight months after the sale of said bond issue, the Levy Court shall make a special assessment or levy upon all real property of every freeholder in said suburban community which is now assessable and taxable. Such assessment shall be made in such a manner that the real property of each freeholder of said community, upon the basis of front footage abutting upon the improvement or improvements, shall equitably bear its pro rata share of the costs of said improvements, and the sum total of all assessments, or levies so made shall equal the total amount of the final contract costs, together with all interest accruing on the full amount of the bond issue until maturity. In the event that final contract costs are not determined within the aforementioned eight-month period, the Levy Court shall make a temporary special assessment or levy upon the basis of the contract bid, together with all interest accruing on the full amount of the bond issue until maturity, said temporary special assessment to be adjusted when final contract costs are known.
In the event that monies from the general fund of the Levy Court are used as heretofore provided in Section 12, the special assessment shall be determined on the basis of final contract costs plus interest. The interest rate shall be the average rate of all interest on bonds issued for similar purposes during the previous calendar year. All interest collected from such special assessments shall be deposited in the special sinking fund account as hereinafter provided for in Section 28.
The provisions of this Section, relating to the special assessment being upon the basis of the final contract costs together with all interest accruing on the full amount of the bond issue until maturity, shall be retroactive to include all work heretofore contracted for under the provisions of the Suburban Road Act and the Levy Court is hereby directed to adjust all special assessments to conform with the provisions of this Section, such adjustments, however, not to be retroactive as to payments due or collections received prior to the effective date of this amendment.
Section 7. That Chapter 123, Volume 45, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing the word "fifteen" as the same appears in the first line of Section 22 thereof and substituting in lieu thereof the following word: "thirty".
Section 8. That Chapter 123, Volume 45, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing the word "ten" as the same appears in the first line of Section 23 thereof and substituting in lieu thereof the following word: "twenty".
Section 9. That, Chapter 123, Volume 45, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing all that part of the last sentence of Section 23 thereof beginning with and following the word "interest" as said word appears in the eighteenth line of said section and substituting in lieu thereof the following words:
"interest at six per cent per annum shall be charged upon said proportionate annual amount of said special assessment or levy beginning sixty days after mailing of said notice and continuing until said assessment is fully paid".
Section 10. That Chapter 123, Volume 45, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out the word "the" in line 3 of Section 15 thereof and enacting and inserting in lieu thereof the follows: "ten per cent (10%) of the"
Approved April 17, 1947.