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(a) Before an assessment for road construction is authorized, the County Executive or the Executive’s designee must hold a public hearing. Any person who would be subject to an assessment or otherwise affected by the location or construction of the road is entitled to be heard at the hearing. Notice of the hearing must be sent by certified or registered mail, at least 2 weeks before the scheduled date of the hearing, to the owners of each property that would be subject to an assessment, as listed in the records of the Department of Finance.
(b) Each notice issued under subsection (a) must contain:
(1) the time and place of the hearing;
(2) the location of the construction which is the subject of the hearing;
(3) the extent and kind of construction intended;
(4) the type of materials to be used;
(5) the estimated cost of construction; and
(6) the location of the real property that will be benefited by the construction.
(c) A summary of the notice provided for in subsection (a) must be published twice in a newspaper of general circulation in the County before the scheduled date of the hearing. The summary must tell where a full copy of the notice may be obtained.
(d) Before beginning construction of any road, the Director of Transportation or the Director’s designee must hold a public hearing to receive comments on the proposed design of the road.
(e) The Director need not hold a hearing under subsection (d) before a sidewalk or sidepath is constructed if:
(1) the sidewalk or path can be constructed entirely in one or more existing public rights-of-way without a detailed engineering design;
(2) (A) a civic association, homeowner’s association, or other organization, which includes a substantial number of owners of property located on the proposed route of the sidewalk or path, has filed a notice of its support for the sidewalk or path with the Executive or a designee; or
(B) if no such organization has filed a notice of support, a petition signed by a majority of owners of property located on the proposed route of the sidewalk or path has been filed with the Executive or a designee; and
(3) the Executive finds, after the Executive’s designee has given notice to and met with residents of the area, that no significant controversy has arisen that would require a public hearing to be held. (1971 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 15; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1; 2010 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch. 27
, § 1; 2022 L.M.C., ch. 31, § 1.)
Editor’s note—This section is interpreted in Montgomery County v. Schultze, 57 Md.App. 781, 471 A.2d 1129 (1984).
(a) If, after the hearing required by Section 49-53(a) is held, the County Executive finds that the public interest requires the assessment under consideration to be carried out, the Executive must authorize the assessment as required in this Chapter.
(b) As soon as practicable after the Executive authorizes an assessment of costs for road construction under this Section, the Executive must forward to the County Council a written report recommending any proposed assessments based on the estimated cost of building the road. The report must describe the work to be done and state, with particularity, what portion of the cost of the construction, if any, should be paid by the adjacent properties and what portion, if any, of the cost should be paid by the County under this Chapter.
(c) The recommendations must be based on the actual costs of publishing notices, conducting hearings, advertising for bids, and engineering, and the anticipated costs of financing to be incurred before the Council adopts the assessment resolution. Each cost assessment must be computed on the basis of linear frontage of adjacent properties, except as otherwise provided in this Chapter. The report must also estimate the dollar amount of the cost share to be paid by adjacent properties. (1971 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 16; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1; 2010 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1.)
Editor’s note—This section is interpreted in Montgomery County v. Schultze, 57 Md.App. 781, 471 A.2d 1129 (1984).
(a) Within 270 days after the County accepts any road authorized and subject to assessments under Section 49-54, the County Executive must forward final recommendations for assessments to the Council. The Executive must include any adjustment to previous estimates resulting from the actual costs of the project, including financing.
(b) Within 90 days after receiving these recommendations, the Council must approve or modify the recommended assessments and, by resolution, assess the costs of the road project against the adjacent properties, subject to the limits of Section 49-52. Each assessment must be computed on the basis of the linear frontage of each property, except as otherwise provided in Section 49-56. Each assessment becomes final when the Council adopts the resolution.
(c) Any person aggrieved by an assessment may appeal, within 30 days after the notice is mailed, to the Circuit Court for the County. Any party may appeal a decision of the Circuit Court to the Court of Special Appeals. (1971 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 17; 1976 L.M.C., ch. 16, § 5; 1978 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; 1982 L.M.C., ch. 31, § 1; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1.)
Editor’s note—This section is quoted in part in Montgomery County v. Schultze, 302 Md. 481, 489 A.2d 16 (1985) and cited in Montgomery County v. Schultze, 57 Md.App. 781, 471 A.2d 1129 (1984).
If the property to be assessed is located at the intersection of 2 or more streets (hereinafter, a corner lot), the linear frontage of each corner lot assessed in connection with the construction of each adjacent street must be reduced to one-half of the total frontage of that lot on the street to be built, but any reduction must not exceed 50 feet on any one street. The portion of the cost of the construction which would otherwise have been assessed to a corner lot must be added to the overall cost assessed to the remaining assessable frontage of the whole project, unless the Executive authorizes the County to pay all or part. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 24-37; 1971 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 20; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1.)
(a) Building roads.
(1) If a road, bridge, storm drain, sidewalk, sidepath, transitway, or other transportation facility is located partly in the unincorporated area of the County and partly in a municipality or special taxing district that is authorized by law to build or maintain that part of the facility that is located in the municipality, either the County or the municipality or special taxing district may improve the entire facility according to applicable County laws or any law or regulation that applies in the municipality or special taxing district, respectively, as if the facility were completely located in the unincorporated area of the County or in the municipality or special taxing district.
(2) The County Executive and the governing body of the municipality or special taxing district must mutually consent to construct or improve the facility, which consent may be granted without regard to the laws of the County or of the municipality or special taxing district regarding construction of roads and assessment for the construction.
(3) The County may build or improve a road, bridge, storm drain, sidewalk, sidepath, bikeway, transitway, or other transportation facility which it is authorized by law to construct and maintain, including when the facility is located partly or entirely in a municipality or special taxing district. Before taking any action under this paragraph, the Executive must consult each affected municipality.
(b) Assessing costs.
(1) If the County or any municipality or special taxing district authorizes the construction of a road, obtains the consent of the other under subsection (a), assesses its cost against abutting property on the basis of benefit to the abutting property, and the assessment is made in accordance with the laws and regulations of the County or municipality or special taxing district levying the assessment, any property which abuts the road or public way but which is located in whole or in part in the other jurisdiction, may be assessed for its proportionate share of the cost of construction in the same manner as if the property were located only in the County or municipality or special taxing district levying the assessment, as the case may be.
(2) Any party on whom an assessment may be levied under this subsection may appeal the assessment, in the same manner under the law of the jurisdiction levying the assessment, as any other party entitled to appeal under its law.
(3) A municipality or special taxing district may, in its discretion, pay all or part of the costs assessed by the County against any property located in it.
(c) State roads. Nothing in this Section affects any State road, except to the extent that the County participates in paying any construction cost under an agreement with the State Highway Administration or any successor agency. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 24-38; 1956, ch. 320, § 1; 1971 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 21; 2001 L.M.C., ch. 28, §§ 10, 15 and 16; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 8
, § 1; 2022 L.M.C., ch. 31
, § 1.)
Editor’s note—The effective date of the amendments made to this section by 2001 L.M.C., ch. 28, § 10, is October 1, 1994.
This section is quoted and interpreted in Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission v. Friendship Heights, 57 Md.App. 69, 468 A.2d 1353 (1984).
(a) (1) Any assessments under this Article is due and payable 30 days after the Council adopts the resolution levying the assessment. Until the assessment is paid, the Director of Finance may attach a lien on the property on which the assessment was levied.
(2) The Council may provide in the resolution that assessments may be paid in full at any time or in up to 20 equal annual installments. Each assessment must bear interest on the unpaid balance from the date the Council adopts the resolution at the interest rate paid by the County on its bonds used to finance construction of the road, plus one percent.
(3) The resolution must provide that all or any portion of the assessment may be paid without interest within 90 days after the resolution levying the assessment is adopted, or in equal annual installments starting on the July 1 at least 30 days after the levy of the assessment. Each payment must include interest on the unpaid balance. Any annual installment, together with the interest on it, not paid on or before the September 30 after its due date, is overdue and must be charged additional interest and penalty at the rate prescribed by law for overdue taxes on real property for the full taxable year.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, the Council may by resolution permit a taxpayer to defer the payment of assessments for a period not to exceed 5 years, subject to the following conditions:
(1) The payment deferral must be provided only on assessments connected with property which has been subject to an increased County property tax assessment resulting directly from a government-initiated change in the zoning classification of the property to a higher intensity use. A government-initiated change in the zoning classification of property is a change proposed by the Planning Board.
(2) The property connected with the assessment has been and must be actually occupied by the taxpayer for residential purposes. Any change in use during the period of payment deferral automatically ends the deferral. Any deferred assessment and accumulated interest on it is then immediately due and payable.
(3) The payment deferral ends immediately when the owner of record listed on the tax records when the property was rezoned transfers the property. Any deferred assessment and accumulated interest on it is then immediately due and payable.
(4) The owner must execute an agreement with the County to pay the balance of unpaid deferred assessments and accumulated interest on them immediately if the owner transfers ownership or does not comply with any other condition, or when the specified deferral period expires.
(5) Interest on the unpaid balance of any deferred assessments must accrue from the date of the deferral resolution at the rate specified in this Section.
(6) A first lien must attach to the property for all deferred assessments and accumulated interest on them. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 24-39; 1971 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 22; 1978 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 2; 1983 L.M.C., ch. 48, § 1; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1.)
(a) Any assessment under this Article must be collected in the same way as real property taxes are collected under State and County laws. Each annual installment due may be included on the County tax bill, or billed separately, as the Director of Finance orders.
(b) If any person does not pay any annual installment, including any interest and penalty due, the Director of Finance may sell the property against which the assessment has been made at tax sale for the unpaid balance due on the assessment, including any interest or penalty due, in the same manner as real property is sold for nonpayment of taxes, together with all other charges due, if any. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 24-40; 1978 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 3; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1.)
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