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An owner of a lot or of land bounding and abutting upon a proposed improvement, claiming that he or she will sustain damage by reason of the improvement, shall present such claim to the Board of Revision of Assessments within two weeks after the service of notice or the completion of the publication herein provided for. Such claim shall be in writing, and shall set forth the amount of damages claimed, with a general description of the property with respect to which it is claimed the damage will accrue, and shall be filed with the Director of Finance. Any owner who fails so to do shall be deemed to have waived such damages, and shall be barred from filing a claim or receiving damages therefor. This provision shall apply to all damage which will obviously result from the improvement, but shall not deprive the owner of his or her right to recover damages arising, without his or her fault, from the acts of the City or its agents. If subsequent to the filing of such claim, the owner sell the property, or any part thereof, the right of damages, if any, shall follow in the ownership of the land without transference of the claim. The Board of Revision of Assessments shall report to the Council all such claims for damages filed with it.
(Amended by electors 11-7-00)
At or before the time of the passage of the ordinance directing that the improvement shall proceed, the Council shall determine whether the claims for damages so filed shall be judicially inquired into before commencing, or after the completion of, the proposed improvement. If it decide that the damages shall be assessed before commencing the improvement, the City Attorney shall then make such application and such proceedings shall be had thereon as are provided by statute relating to the assessment of damages on such claims.
If the Council determines to assess the damages after the completion of the improvement for which a claim for damages has been filed, the City Attorney shall within ten days after the completion of the improvement make written application and the same proceedings shall be had as provided in the next preceding section.
No person who claim damages arising from any cause shall commence a suit therefor against the City until sixty days after he or she shall have filed a claim for such damages with the Director of Finance. This provision shall not apply to an application for an injunction, or other proceeding to which it may be necessary to resort in case of urgent necessity.
(Amended by electors 11-7-00)
When special assessments are levied by the percentage of tax value of the property assessed or by the foot frontage of the property bounding and abutting upon the improvement, and there are lands subject to such assessment which are not assessed for taxation, the Director of Finance shall fix, for the purpose of such assessment, the value of such lots as they stand and of such lands at such depths as the Director of Finance considers a fair average of the depths of lots in the neighborhood, so that it will be a fair average of the assessed value of other lots in the neighborhood. Where lands are not subdivided into lots, but are assessed for taxation, the Director of Finance shall fix the value and the depth in the same manner but the above rule shall not apply in making a special assessment according to benefits.
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