In accordance with the general principle that benefitted property should bear the cost of extending water and sewer lines, one or more of the following methods shall be used in providing for the extension of water and sewer lines to serve properties not located within subdivisions currently under development. Properties which are annexed by the town based upon the properties meeting the necessary standards for annexation as set forth in the North Carolina General Statutes (i.e., annexation not based on a petition requesting annexation by the property owners) will have services extended to them with financing arranged by assessments as described in divisions (A)(1) through (7) below.
(A) Assessments for costs.
(1) Lateral water and sewer main extensions will be made by assessment of the cost thereof against property owners to be benefitted thereby in conformity with G.S. Chapter 160A, Article 10. In the event it is necessary or desirable to lay a water main larger than a six-inch main, or a sewer main larger than an eight-inch main, the town will bear the cost of the difference between the cost of the size of main required and that of a six-inch water main or eight-inch sewer main.
(2) Lots at the intersection of streets, except lots in a subdivision which are assessed on a per lot basis as authorized by G.S. Chapter 160A, Article 10, shall be assessed as follows:
(a) If water and sewer mains or both are installed simultaneously on both streets on which the lot abuts, assessment of the cost of the installation shall be based upon the entire frontage on one street plus the frontage on the other street in excess of 150 feet.
(b) If such lot is already served by water or sewer mains in a street on which the lot abuts and a like main is installed in the other abutting street, the cost of such new installation shall be assessed against the lot to the extent that such frontage abutting the new installation exceeds 150 feet.
(c) If water or sewer service is installed in a street abutting a corner lot, and such service is not a duplicating service, and the method of assessment used is the street frontage method, the assessment shall not exceed the number of feet of the shortest side of said lot abutting the street. Upon installation of a duplicating service to said lot, an exemption as specified in division (A)(2) above shall be credited against the longest side of said lot abutting on the public street.
(3) Where one or more water or sewer lines traverse a lot or tract of land and the method of assessment used is the abutting footage on the improvement, the abutting footage for each lot, tract, or parcel assessed according to the assessment roll shall not exceed the straight line distance between the beginning point and the ending point of said line or lines. However, upon the installation of a duplicating service to a traversed lot or tract of land, an exemption of 150 feet shall be allowed for the duplicating service, whether it is installed separately or simultaneously with the original service.
(4) A lot not on a corner abutting two streets which has a water or sewer service in one street shall not be liable for an assessment for a duplicating service in the other street or streets if the subdivision of such lot or sale of any part thereof for an additional building site or sites is prohibited by the zoning or subdivision standard provisions of the town or any restrictive covenants running for a period of not less than five years from the date of the assessment for such installation.
(5) The term LOT as used in this section is defined as a parcel of land without regard to whether or not it is shown on any subdivision map as a separate lot and without regard to how or when acquired, except that when an assessment is made on a per lot basis in a subdivision, the term LOT shall apply to each separate subdivided lot. However, when a lot in a subdivision is already served by a water or sewer line and the lots in the subdivision are assessed on a per lot basis, the lot so served shall not be assessed a greater amount than the amount which would be assessed against the lot on a linear foot basis after giving credit for the exemptions contained in this section.
(6) The Town Council shall determine which method of assessment authorized by G.S. § 160A-218 would be most equitable to be used in an assessment roll.
(7) When the Town Council determines that the most equitable method of assessment is on the basis of the frontage abutting the project, the Council shall determine the amount of the construction cost to be borne by the abutting property owner and the amount to be borne by the town.
(B) Reimbursement policy.
(1) The reimbursement policy outlined in division (A)(2) of this section shall be available for use by an individual property owner who desires service at some distance from existing lines and when assessment of, or contributions from, intervening property does not appear feasible. This method may also be used in financing extensions both inside and outside the town boundaries.
(2) Extensions under any of the above financing methods may be made either by forces of the town or under contracts let by the town, or by private contracts let under the supervision of the town.
(Ord. passed 2-18-85; Am. Ord. passed 4-2-90; Am. Ord. 2017-03-01, passed 3-6-17; Am. Ord. 2018-07-07, passed 7-16-18)