HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-17-13 Special Common Council Meeting AgendaOFFICIAL NOTICE OF MEETING
A Special meeting of Common Council will be held on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at
6:00 p.m. in Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 East Green Street, Ithaca. Your
attendance is requested
AGENDA
1. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS:
1.1 Presentation from Sidewalk Task Force:
A. Fact Sheet:
B. City of Ithaca Local Law Concerning Sidewalk Improvement Districts
C. Proposed Sidewalk Improvement Districts Map
2. NEW BUSINESS:
3. ADJOURNMENT
If you have a disability that will require special arrangements to be made in order for you
to fully participate in the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at 274-6570 at least 48
hours before the meeting.
______________________________
Julie Conley Holcomb
City Clerk
Dated: July 11, 2013
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Sidewalk Task Force Fact Sheet
City of Ithaca Local Law Concerning Sidewalk Improvement Districts
• Summary of Current Policy.
o Under the City’s current policy, the abutting property owner is responsible for full
sidewalk construction and repair costs. This policy has led to the construction of
very little new sidewalk in the last twenty years (and owner resistance to sidewalk
construction projects). The enforcement of the repair policy is administratively
difficult and leads to repair delays. The Mayor convened a Sidewalk Task Force,
chaired by the City Attorney, in February 2013 to address these problems.
• Task Force Objectives for a New System of Sidewalk Financing.
o Reduced regressivity of the current system.
o Continued inclusion of tax-exempt owners in a new system of financing.
o Smoothed-out, predictable sidewalk costs for property owners.
o Reduced disincentive to new construction; sidewalk treated as a public good.
o Improved sidewalk repair record in a simple and efficient system.
• Creation of Sidewalk Improvement Districts.
o The Task Force recommends the creation of five sidewalk benefit assessment
districts (each a “Sidewalk Improvement District” or “SID”). All property in the
City is included in the proposed districts, with the exception of most of the U-1
zone, where most sidewalks front on private roads and are well maintained by the
property owner. A map has been created outlining the proposed districts.
o All lots in the districts, including those lots that are exempt from property taxes,
will be subject to the assessments. The money raised in each district must be used
solely for work performed in that district; thus, while the amount raised in each
district will vary, the property owners in each district will be assessed
proportionately to the scope and cost of work occurring in that district.
• Proposed Assessment Formula.
o Low-Foot-Traffic Lots (see below) will pay an Annual Maintenance Fee of $70.
All other lots will pay an Annual Maintenance Fee of $140, plus a Square Footage
Fee ($0.015 per square foot of buildings on a lot) and a Frontage Fee ($30 for
each 50 feet of lot frontage or portion thereof).
CITY OF ITHACA
108 East Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850-5690
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
Aaron O. Lavine, City Attorney Telephone: 607/274-6504
Robert A. Sarachan, Assistant City Attorney Fax: 607/274-6507
Krin Flaherty, Assistant City Attorney
Jared Pittman, Assistant City Attorney
Jody Andrew, Executive Assistant
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o Low-Foot-Traffic Lots will consist of one- and two-family residences. A lot’s
eligibility will be determined by the Property Type Classification Code assigned
to it by the Tompkins County Department of Assessment. These codes are
established by the New York State Office of Real Property Services.
o Lots which have or had sidewalk construction or repair work performed at the
owner’s expense will be eligible for a reduction in the assessment (1/20 of the
amount of the work, subject to a cap, in each of the twenty years following
completion of the work). The Dept. of Public Works shall review applications for
the reduction; the owner may appeal to the Board of Public Works.
o The proposed assessment formula will raise a total of approximately $600,000
(+/- $50,000) per year, with amounts varying by district. We estimate that this
will replace and exceed City-wide sidewalk work currently performed by both
City crews and private contractors. The formula can be amended via future local
laws. The City can bond against the assessment for capital-intensive projects.
• Determination of Budget and Work to be Performed.
o Council will approve the funding and work to be performed as part of the normal
budget process. BPW will recommend a budget and schedule of work to Council.
BPW will likely want to invite the public to submit work suggestions year-round,
with BPW holding meetings in the winter months to discuss these suggestions.
Council will hopefully also engage with their constituents regarding needed work.
o Once the formula and assessments are approved by Council, the assessments will
be liens on the properties assessed, administered by the Tompkins County
Department of Assessment, and collected with City property taxes.
o Sidewalk curb cuts and accessibility ramps will be included in district work and
funded by district assessments. Driveway cuts and aprons will not be included.
o The Local Law expressly preserves the right of the City (via Council, BPW or the
Planning and Development Board) to require the construction or repair of
sidewalk at the cost of the property owner as part of the site plan review process.
Such work may not be used to reduce the property’s future SID assessments.
• Application of Current Policy and Savings Clause.
o The law governing the SIDs will replace the current sidewalk assessment policy
as § C-73 in the Charter; the current sidewalk policy contained in that section will
be redesignated as § C-73.1. The current policy will apply to any lot not located in
a SID or otherwise not subject to a SID assessment under the new policy.
• Manner of Enactment and Permissive Referendum.
o The SIDs must be created by local law subject to permissive referendum.
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Local Law No. ____-2013
A local law entitled the “City of Ithaca Local Law Concerning Sidewalk Improvement
Districts.”
WHEREAS the City’s current sidewalk policy, in which the full cost of sidewalk
construction and repair is assessed against the abutting property owner, results in
unpredictable, large, lump-sum charges against property owners, and as a result has
discouraged the construction and repair of sidewalk throughout the City, and
WHEREAS a comprehensive and high-quality network of sidewalks is beneficial to
residents, businesses, organizations, and individual property owners beyond the
abutting property owners, and
WHEREAS pursuant to Municipal Home Rule Law Section 10(1)(ii)(c)(3) the City of
Ithaca is authorized to adopt a local law relating to the authorization, making,
confirmation, and correction of benefit assessments for local improvements,
BE IT ENACTED by the Common Council of the City of Ithaca as follows:
Section 1. Legislative Findings, Intent, and Purpose.
Pursuant to Municipal Home Rule Law Section 10(1)(ii)(c)(3) the City of Ithaca is
authorized to adopt a local law relating to the authorization, making, confirmation, and
correction of benefit assessments for local improvements. Under the City’s current
policy, the abutting property owner is responsible for the full sidewalk construction and
repair costs. This policy has led to the construction of very little new sidewalk in the last
twenty years, and the enforcement of the repair policy is administratively difficult and
leads to repair delays.
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The Common Council makes the following findings of fact:
A. Residents, businesses, organizations, and individual property owners
beyond the abutting property owner are benefited by a comprehensive
and high-quality network of sidewalks.
B. Abutting property owners are better served by paying an annual
assessment for the construction and repair of sidewalks near their
property, rather than face unpredictable, large, lump-sum assessments for
construction and repair of abutting sidewalk.
C. Sidewalks are appropriately designated as a local improvement for which
property owners may be assessed in proportion to the benefit the property
receives, and such assessments are necessary to defray the cost of
construction and maintenance of sidewalk in the City.
The Common Council finds that the creation of several Sidewalk Improvement Districts
is the most efficient and effective way to meet the need for sidewalk construction and
repair and to recognize the proportional benefits and enhanced property value received
by property owners due to such work. The Common Council also considers sidewalk
accessibility to be an important goal that is supported by this local law.
Section 2. Charter Definition Amendments.
Section C-114(A) of the Ithaca City Charter is hereby amended as follows:
LOCAL IMPROVEMENT
Any public improvement or work, the expense of which is directed by
the Common Council to be assessed in whole or in part upon the
property or properties deemed benefited.
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TAX
In addition to its usual meaning, includes water rents or rates[ and
assessments or reassessments for local improvements].
Section 3. Previous Sidewalk Assessment Policy.
Existing Section C-73 of the City Charter is hereby redesignated as Section C-73.1,
entitled “Sidewalks Not Included in Sidewalk Improvement Districts,” and is amended to
include a new subsection F as follows:
F. Those provisions of this Section C-73.1 compelling owner construction or
repair of sidewalk shall not apply to lots or parcels located in a Sidewalk
Improvement District and subject to an assessment for work performed in
that District pursuant to Section C-73 of the Charter; provided, however,
that this Section and related provisions in the City Code shall continue to
apply to the construction or repair of driveway cuts or aprons regardless of
whether a lot or parcel is located in a District or is subject to such an
assessment; and provided further that should a court of competent
jurisdiction hold, or the City so concede, that Section C-73 of the Charter
in its entirety or any District created by that Section in particular is invalid
or unconstitutional, or that any particular property within any District is not
subject to that Section, any property thereby determined not to be subject
to Sidewalk Improvement District assessments pursuant to Section C-73
shall be subject to the provisions regarding sidewalk construction or repair
set forth in this Section C-73.1.
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Section 4. Sidewalk Improvement Districts.
Section C-73 of the City Charter is hereby renamed “Sidewalk Improvement Districts,”
and is amended to read as follows:
A. Establishment of Sidewalk Improvement Districts; Map.
(1) The City is hereby divided into five (5) Sidewalk Improvement
Districts (“Districts” or “SIDs”): District #1, District #2, District #3,
District #4, and District #5. The Districts are bounded as shown on
the map titled “Official Sidewalk Improvement District Map of the
City of Ithaca, New York” (hereinafter “SID Map”), and which
accompanies in printed format and is hereby made part of this
Section.
(2) The Superintendent of Public Works or his or her designee shall
prepare, maintain, and keep current the SID Map in accordance
with amendments made thereon pursuant to action of the Common
Council.
(3) Where uncertainty exists with respect to the boundaries of the
aforesaid districts as shown on the SID Map, the rules established
for interpreting the Official Zoning Map as set forth in Section 325-6
of the City Code shall be used to interpret the SID Map.
B. Construction or Repair of Sidewalks in Districts.
(1) The Board of Public Works shall recommend, subject to
amendment and approval by the Common Council, a budget and a
schedule of Sidewalk Construction or Repair to be performed in
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each SID as part of the City’s budget for each fiscal year; provided,
however, that the budget for the first fiscal year following the year of
enactment of this Local Law shall be recommended and approved
on such schedule as deemed practicable by the Board of Public
Works and Common Council. The Board shall have the authority to
include in such budget all or any portion of the cost for past
sidewalk construction or repair performed by the City on a property
located in and subject to assessments as part of a SID, so long as
said cost has not been assessed upon the abutting property owner
prior to the effective date of this Section. Along with such budget
and schedule of work, the Board shall recommend to Council any
adjustments it deems desirable to the assessment formula set forth
in Subsection C hereof. Such budget may include the issuing of,
and payment of the maturing principal of and interest on, any
obligation issued pursuant to the Local Finance Law for the
purpose of financing the construction or repair of sidewalks
pursuant to this Section.
(2) Before the budget and schedule of work required by Subsection B
hereof are given final approval by the Board, the City Clerk shall
give notice by publication three (3) times in a local newspaper of a
public hearing thereon on a date specified, which date shall not be
less than ten (10) days from the first publication. Before the date of
public hearing, any person may file with the City Clerk written
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objections to such budget or schedule of work or any part thereof,
which objections shall be presented to the Board before action shall
be taken on such budget and schedule of work. At the time so
appointed or at such other time to which it may adjourn for that
purpose, the Board may hear the allegations of any person
interested who shall have filed such objections and may take proof
in relation thereto. Such allegations and proofs shall be confined to
the matters stated in such written objections. The Board may
thereupon alter or correct any assessment as justice may require,
finally approve the same and file a schedule thereof with the
Common Council, which may amend and confirm the same by local
law after a public hearing, and if so confirmed, the amount of each
assessment as derived from the Assessment Formula shall be a
lien upon the real property so assessed. Such assessments and, if
required, any reassessments, shall be collected in the manner
provided for the enforcement, levy, and collection of City taxes,
and, when they remain unpaid, shall be added to the annual City
tax on the property so assessed.
(3) The Board of Public Works or Common Council may include
construction or repair of sidewalk curb cuts and curb accessibility
ramps in the local improvements to be made in a SID. The Board of
Public Works or Common Council shall not include construction or
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repair of driveway cuts or aprons, which shall remain the financial
responsibility of the abutting property owner.
(4) Work performed in a SID pursuant to this Section shall be deemed
a local improvement, and Common Council declares and finds that
the Assessment Formula in Subsection C assesses each property
in each District in proportion to the benefit received by that property
from the construction and repair of sidewalks in its respective SID,
and that such assessments are necessary to defray the cost of
construction and repair of sidewalk in the respective SIDs.
(5) Nothing herein shall be construed to modify or alter any power of
the Common Council, Board of Public Works, or Planning and
Development Board to require a property owner to bear the full cost
of sidewalk construction or repair as part of the site plan review
process pursuant to Chapter 276 of the City Code, regardless of
whether said property is located within a SID.
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C. Assessment Formula.
(1) Definitions.
ANNUAL MAINTENANCE FEE
The Annual Maintenance Fee for Low-Foot-Traffic Lots is
seventy dollars ($70.00); for all other Lots, it is one hundred
and forty dollars ($140.00).
COST OF PAST WORK
The total sum, including labor and materials, actually paid for
Past Work; provided, however, that none of the following
shall be included: (i) costs exceeding fifteen dollars ($15.00)
per square foot of Past Work completed; or, (ii) any
overhead fee, interests or penalties imposed for failure to
perform Sidewalk Construction or Repair pursuant to the
Charter or City Code, including but not limited to Section C-
73.1(E) of the Charter.
FRONT FEET
The frontage of a Lot or the distance between side lot lines
measured along the line of the street or streets.
LOT
Lot or parcel of land, as set forth by the current City of Ithaca
Tax Maps on file with the Tompkins County Department of
Assessment.
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LOW-FOOT-TRAFFIC LOTS
Those Lots with a Property Class Code of 210, 215, 220, or
270, or substantially identical successor designations.
PAST WORK
Sidewalk Construction or Repair performed at the cost of the
property owner on a Lot located in and subject to
assessments as part of a Sidewalk Improvement District,
and permitted by and performed in accordance with the
general drawings and specifications established by the
Office of City Engineer; provided further that work completed
as required by a site plan review pursuant to Chapter 276 of
the City Code is excluded.
PROPERTY CLASS CODE
The property type classification code, as defined by the New
York State Office of Real Property Services in the
Assessors’ Manual, assigned to a Lot by the Tompkins
County Department of Assessment, as may be updated by
that Department from time to time.
SIDEWALK CONSTRUCTION OR REPAIR
Construction or repair of any public sidewalk or footpath
intended for the use of pedestrians in a City park or
approximately following along the line of the street or streets
upon which the Lot fronts, including but not limited to
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sidewalk curb cuts and curb accessibility ramps; provided,
however, that the construction or repair of driveway cuts,
aprons, or a pedestrian mall (as that term is defined in
Section C-89(B) of the Charter) is excluded.
SQUARE FOOTAGE
The total square footage of all buildings on a Lot as recorded
by the Tompkins County Department of Assessment.
(2) Each Lot in a SID shall be annually assessed for work to be
performed in the district as follows: Annual Maintenance Fee plus
Square Footage Fee plus Frontage Fee less Past Work Reduction.
(a) Square Footage Fee. The Square Footage Fee for all Low-
Foot-Traffic Lots shall be $0.00. For all other Lots, the Lot’s
Square Footage Fee shall be equal to the Lot’s Square
Footage times $0.015.
(b) Frontage Fee. The Frontage Fee for all Low-Foot-Traffic
Lots shall be $0.00. For all other Lots, the Frontage Fee
shall be $30.00 for each fifty (50) feet of Front Feet or
portion thereof.
(c) Past Work Reduction. A Lot’s assessment under this Section
shall account for the Cost of Past Work performed on the Lot
by deducting a Past Work Reduction as set forth herein.
[1] A Lot is eligible for a reduction for twenty (20) years
from the date the Past Work was substantially
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completed (“Reduction Period”). In each year of the
Reduction Period for which an assessment, if any, is
made pursuant to this Section, the Lot’s Past Work
Reduction shall be an amount equal to one-twentieth
(1/20) of the Cost of Past Work. Should the allowable
reduction for the Cost of Past Work be greater than a
Lot’s assessment under this Section in any given
year, the Lot owner shall not be entitled to the
difference, and the difference shall not apply to the
assessment for any other year.
[2] The Lot owner must provide sufficient evidence to the
Superintendent of Public Works or his or her designee
of the nature of the Past Work performed, the Cost of
the Past Work, and the date the Past Work was
substantially completed. Such evidence must be
provided no later than May 1 of the year preceding
the fiscal year for which the owner seeks a Past Work
reduction; provided, however, that in the first fiscal
year following the year of enactment of this Local
Law, such proof must be provided no later than the
deadline, if any, established by the Board of Public
Works, and if no such deadline is established, such
proof must be provided no later than thirty (30) days
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after the Board of Public Works first recommends a
budget or schedule of work pursuant to Subsection
(B)(1) of this Section. If the request is approved by the
Superintendent of Public Works or his or her
designee, the Past Work reduction shall automatically
recur in each remaining year of the Reduction Period.
The Lot owner may appeal the determination of the
Superintendent of Public Works or his or her designee
to the Board of Public Works at an open meeting
thereafter.
D. Appeals and Reassessments.
(1) No action or proceeding to set aside, vacate, cancel, or annul any
assessment for a local improvement shall be maintained, except for
total want of jurisdiction to levy and assess the same on the part of
the officer, officers, board, or body authorized by law to make such
levy or assessment or to order the improvement on account of
which the levy or assessment was made. In the event that a court
of competent jurisdiction finds such total want of jurisdiction, this
Section shall be deemed repealed, and the sidewalk assessment
policy in Section C-73.1 of the Charter shall automatically take
effect.
(2) No action or proceedings shall be maintained to modify or reduce
any assessment for a local improvement, except for fraud or
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substantial error by reason of which the amount of such
assessment is in substantial excess of the amount which should
have been lawfully levied or assessed.
(3) Any person or persons, jointly or severally, aggrieved by any
determination of assessment for a local improvement pursuant to
this Section may have the decision reviewed by the Supreme Court
of New York in the manner provided by Article 78 of the Civil
Practice Law and Rules.
(4) Whenever any assessments made under the provisions of this
Section shall be set aside or shall be decided by any court having
jurisdiction thereof to have been improperly or illegally made or
whenever it shall be ascertained that the proceedings under which
said assessment has been made shall have been so far irregular
and erroneous as to make the collection of such assessment illegal,
then a reassessment shall be made with the same force and effect
as if it had been an original assessment; provided, however, that in
the event that no assessment is thereafter successfully levied,
those properties affected shall be subject to Section C-73.1 of the
Charter.
Section 5. Severability Clause.
Severability is intended throughout and within the provisions of this Local Law. If any
section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Local Law is held to be
invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, then that decision shall
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not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Local Law, except as otherwise
provided in Section 3 and Section 4(D).
Section 6. Effective and Operative Date.
This Local Law shall take effect forty-five (45) days after its adoption, and after filing in
the office of the Secretary of State. This Local Law is subject to referendum on petition
pursuant to Municipal Home Rule Law Section 24.
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Proposed Sidewalk Improvement Districts
Legend
Special Districts
Waterway
Parcels
Border
1 inch = 1,500 feet²
Map created by the City of Ithaca Engineering Division, June 2013