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67A.875 Determination of need by ordinance -- Preliminary planning procedures -- Ordinance of initiation.

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67A.875 Determination of need by ordinance -- Preliminary planning procedures -- Ordinance of initiation. (1) Any urban-county government which determines that the public health, safety, and general welfare requires construction of a wastewater collection project and which <br>proposes to undertake, authorize, construct, and finance a wastewater collection <br>project pursuant to KRS 67A.871 to 67A.894 shall, by appropriate ordinance of its <br>urban-county council make such determinations and cause preliminary plans, <br>designs, specifications, and financial planning for such project to be prepared by <br>one (1) or more engineers, or one (1) or more firms of engineers, licensed to do <br>business in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Alternatively, such preliminary <br>procedures may be accomplished directly by duly-qualified government personnel. <br>A preliminary engineering and financing report shall be prepared in writing by such <br>engineers for submission to the government. (2) The preliminary engineering and financing report shall, designate a geographical area in which a wastewater collection project is recommended for construction, <br>contain a reasonable description of the project facilities proposed to be constructed, <br>contain a statement as to benefits to be conferred by the proposed project and the <br>distribution of such benefits and contain an estimate of the costs of the proposed <br>project. The urban-county council of such government shall receive such <br>preliminary engineering and financing report at a regular meeting, shall thereafter <br>study and evaluate the same, and by duly-enacted ordinance either approve the <br>preliminary engineering and financing report as submitted, disapprove such report, <br>or amend and approve same in its sound discretion. (3) Upon approval of the preliminary engineering and financing report, or amendment thereof and approval thereof as amended, by the urban-county council of such <br>urban-county government, such council shall formally initiate proceedings for the <br>acquisition and financing of the proposed wastewater collection project by the <br>enactment of an ordinance to be designated as the ordinance of initiation, in which <br>public announcement shall be made of the wastewater collection project proposed <br>to be acquired, constructed, and financed, the identification of properties proposed <br>to be benefited by such project, which benefited properties may be identified by <br>naming the public way upon which the benefited properties abut, if any, or by <br>geographical location, or by metes and bounds or other appropriate description. The <br>ordinance of initiation shall recite the nature and scope of the wastewater collection <br>project being initiated by the government, shall give a preliminary estimate of the <br>costs thereof, shall determine that each lot, parcel and tract of land named and <br>identified in the ordinance of initiation as benefited property shall be afforded <br>benefits by the project unless specifically excluded by such ordinance and shall <br>order that a public hearing be held in respect of the proposed wastewater collection <br>project. (4) In all succeeding proceedings, the government shall be bound and limited by the ordinance of initiation with regard to the nature, scope and extent of the proposed <br>wastewater collection project, but shall not be bound by or limited to the <br>preliminary estimate of the costs of the proposed project. The costs of such project shall be determined upon the basis of construction bids publicly solicited by such <br>urban-county government as required by KRS 67A.871 to 67A.894, and shall be <br>binding upon the government and upon the owners of benefited properties, whether <br>they turn out to be equal to, below, or above, such preliminary estimate of costs. (5) In the ordinance of initiation, the urban-county council shall make findings of fact regarding the degree and nature of benefit which will accrue to benefited properties <br>by the installation of the project. In the event the urban-county council determines <br>as a fact that groups of benefited properties, or all benefited properties, will be <br>affected and benefited in substantially the same manner and to substantially the <br>same degree, such urban-county council may determine that it is appropriate to <br>classify benefited properties into one or more assessment zones based upon the <br>similarity of benefits to be derived by benefited properties from installation of the <br>project, and in such case, the urban-county council may deem all benefited <br>properties within a particular assessment zone to be equally benefited and therefore <br>equally treated for purposes of levying improvement benefit assessments to provide <br>funds to pay the costs of the project. It is the intent of KRS 67A.871 to 67A.894 to <br>vest in the urban-county council of any urban-county government undertaking a <br>project, authority to make findings of fact in order to classify properties according <br>to benefits conferred from the construction of projects, and such urban-county <br>council may, as aforesaid, by appropriate ordinance, determine that identified <br>groups of benefited properties will be benefited similarly by a project and shall <br>therefore be treated equally for purposes of levying improvement benefit <br>assessments upon such benefited properties. The urban-county council may accept <br>and rely upon any pertinent data in making such findings of fact, including, the size <br>and diameter of sanitary sewer service connections to be made available. In the <br>event the urban-county council of the government shall determine that all properties <br>situated within a particularly described classification or zone shall not receive <br>substantially equal benefits from the project, the urban-county council shall <br>determine in the ordinance of initiation that such properties shall be assessed for <br>benefits conferred based upon the relative assessed land valuation of each benefited <br>property as it relates to the aggregate assessed land valuation of all benefited <br>properties within such particularly described classification or zone initially, when <br>property owners shall be afforded the opportunity to pay improvement benefit <br>assessments on a lump sum basis, and subsequently, during each annual period <br>when bonds issued to provide for payment of costs of the project not paid by lump <br>sum payments shall be outstanding. Findings of fact made by any urban-county <br>council in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be entitled to a <br>presumption of regularity and accuracy when based upon receipt of, and <br>consideration of, factual data and information described in this section. (6) The ordinance of initiation shall provide that a public hearing shall be held in respect of the proposed project at a time and place which shall be specified in the <br>ordinance of initiation, and shall give notice that at the public hearing any owner of <br>benefited property may appear and be heard as to whether the proposed project <br>should be undertaken, whether the nature and scope of the project should be altered, <br>and whether the project shall be financed through the assessment of benefited properties and issuance of bonds in respect of assessments not paid on a lump sum <br>basis, all as proposed by the ordinance of initiation and as authorized by KRS <br>67A.871 to 67A.894. (7) The ordinance of initiation shall be published pursuant to KRS Chapter 424, and shall designate an individual, who shall be a member of the urban-county council or <br>any government officer, to preside at the public hearing. In the absence of a <br>designation in the ordinance of initiation, the mayor of the government shall preside <br>at the public hearing. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the public hearing shall not be <br>deemed irregular or improper if it is in fact presided over and conducted at the <br>designated time and place by any official of the urban-county government. Effective: March 30, 1976 <br>History: Created 1976 Ky. Acts ch. 371, sec. 5, effective March 30, 1976.