99.03   PROCEDURE.
1.   In the event the Council determines the necessity for construction of a major sanitary sewer facility, and determines that the utilization of a connection fee is the most equitable manner in which to recover the City's costs associated therewith, the Council shall cause a “Notice of Public Hearing on the Proposed Adoption of an Ordinance to Establish a Benefited District and a Connection Fee Schedule” to be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the City as hereafter provided. In addition to indicating the date, time, and place of the public hearing, the notice shall:
   A.   Indicate the nature and extent of the major sanitary sewer facility or facilities under consideration for construction, as well as the estimated cost or costs for the design and construction of same;
   B.   Identify by general description the proposed benefited district to be served by the major sanitary sewer facility or facilities; and
   C.   Set forth the proposed yearly schedule of connection fees to be paid by property owners within the benefited district who connect to said facilities, expressed in dollars per acre of land area served.
The notice shall also state that the proposed connection fee ordinance is on file, along with a service area map of the area to be served, and both are available for public inspection in the office of the Clerk. The notice shall be published not more than 45 days and not less than 20 days prior to the scheduled date of the public hearing, and shall be mailed to each property owner within the benefited district as shown by the records of the County Auditor.
2.   At the public hearing, the owners of property within the proposed benefited district shall be heard and may offer comments or objections as to:
   A.   The necessity for the project;
   B.   The calculation of the area benefited by the proposed major sanitary sewer facilities;
   C.   The estimated cost of the proposed facilities;
   D.   The proposed per acre connection fee; and
   E.   The graduated yearly connection fee schedule.
3.   Upon concluding the hearing, the Council shall rule upon the objections presented during the hearing and may consider the adoption of the proposed connection fee ordinance. Upon consideration of the proposed connection fee ordinance, the Council may:
   A.   Adopt the ordinance as proposed;
   B.   Delete elements or portions of the proposed major sanitary sewer facilities from the proposed project and the properties served thereby from the benefited district proposed; or
   C.   Amend the ordinance to revise the connection fee schedule.
4.   The connection fee ordinance may provide, at the Council's discretion, that single family residences within the benefited district, in existence or under construction upon the effective date of the ordinance, and located within the corporate limits of the City, are eligible for connection to the major sanitary sewer facility. In that event, the ordinance shall include the following provisions:
   A.   That the owners of residences on parcels of less than one acre in size located within the City may connect such residences to the major sanitary sewer facility upon approval of their application for connection, payment of the connection fee for the parcel, and construction, at the owner’s expense, of appropriate connection structures, as determined necessary by the Public Works Director.
   B.   That the owners of residences on parcels in excess of one acre in size located within the City may connect such residences to the major sanitary sewer facility upon approval of their application for connection, subdivision of said parcel into a residence parcel and an outlot, payment of the connection fee for the residence parcel, and construction, at the owner's expense, of appropriate connection structures, as determined necessary by the Public Works Director.
   C.   The connection fee ordinance may also provide, at the Council's discretion, that sanitary sewer service can be provided to recreational and park facilities in the same manner and under the same procedures set forth in this section for single family residences within the benefited district.
All other property located within the corporate limits of the City and within a benefited district shall be eligible for connection to the major sanitary sewer facility upon approval of an application for connection by the owner thereof, as hereafter provided, and payment of the connection fee for such property, provided such property has been appropriately subdivided for development, and, where applicable, all sanitary sewer improvements necessary to serve said property have been constructed, at the owner’s expense, and accepted by the City.
5.   After adoption, publication and recording by the Clerk of a connection fee ordinance for a benefited district, all owners of those properties within the benefited district whose properties are eligible for connection, and who propose to connect such properties directly or indirectly to the major sanitary sewer facility, shall make application to the City for such connection. The submittal of construction plans to the City for sanitary sewer improvements on property being subdivided for development shall constitute an application to the City for purposes of this chapter. The sewer connection fee shall be due and payable at the time application is made to the City for connection to the major sanitary sewer facility. No connection shall be made to a major sanitary sewer facility until such application has been approved and until the required connection fee has been paid. The sewer connection fee shall be paid before the City will approve the final plat of property subject to the sewer connection fee.
6.   The sewer connection fee shall be in an amount equal to the maximum acre area of contiguous property, or fraction thereof, within the benefited district under common ownership which can be lawfully served through such proposed connection, multiplied by the per acre connection fee established in the connection fee ordinance for that benefited district. The connection fee ordinance may provide for a graduated connection fee, with annual interest adjustments, such that property owners who connect in later years pay interest on the connection fee for their property. The rate of interest applicable to the connection fee established in each benefited district shall not exceed the rate of interest applicable to special assessments pursuant to Chapter 74A and Section 384.60(3) of the Iowa Code in effect on the date that the connection fee was established for that district by enactment of a connection fee ordinance.
7.   The sewer connection fee required by this chapter shall be due and payable to the City Clerk and is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other fees for connection required under the plumbing code or other provisions of this Code of Ordinances.
8.   In the event any property owner connects his or her property within a benefited district to a major sanitary sewer facility without having made application therefor or without having received approval thereof or without having paid the required connection fee established by a connection fee ordinance, the City shall be entitled to disconnect such private sewer connection until such time as the property owner has made and received approval of his or her application, and/or has paid the required connection fee.
(Ord. 5-99 #2 (33) – July 99 Supp.)