Section 16.58.205 Application for reimbursement and reimbursement agreements.

A. PREAMBLE. From time to time, owners of property or developers are required to install public improvements as a condition of approval of development or construction activities within Vernal City. When those privately funded public improvements create a benefit to other land within the City, any person subsequently building upon or developing that land and utilizing those public improvements may pursuant to this ordinance be required to reimburse the person or entity paying for those public improvements a pro rata share of the cost.

B. Upon compliance by the original installer of the public improvements, within the terms of this ordinance, the City will require a pro rata reimbursement from any applicant or person subsequently constructing a building or developing a development that is served by or receives benefit from the previously installed privately funded public improvements.

C. The reimbursement provided for in this Ordinance shall only apply to and be required from those parcels of real property that are immediately adjacent and/ or parallel to the improvements. It shall be the responsibility of the individual or entity filing the application for reimbursement to provide with the application a legal description of the real property which is or may be served by the improvements in accordance with this Ordinance. The City Manager will review and approve the designation of said property.

D. The Vernal City Planner shall determine the reimbursement amount for each subsequently developed parcel of real property served by those public improvements. If the subsequent land owner or developer charged disagrees with the apportionment, the decision of the Vernal City Planner may be appealed to the Vernal City Council.

E. The reimbursement amount shall be established by determining the percentage of use or benefit received by the parcel or parcels of real property immediately adjacent and /or parallel to the privately installed improvements. Each person / land owner / developer that subsequently becomes responsible for reimbursement shall pay a pro rata share of the total cost of the privately funded improvements. The amount to be paid may be based upon the front footage adjacent to said real property, or by determining the percentage of use of the improvement being used to serve the subsequent development. The method to be used shall be the one that results in the highest amount. By way of illustration, if a private land owner or developer installed a 500-foot section of water line at a cost of $10,000.00 in a public street, a person owning a single lot adjacent and /or parallel to the water line which was 100-feet wide that connected to the water line would be responsible for a reimbursement of $1,000.00 to the person installing the water line (500-ft. x 2 (both sides of street served by line) = 1,000-ft @ $10,000; 1,000-ft = $10.00 per lineal foot x 100-ft of frontage = $1,000.00). The Vernal City Planner may calculate the reimbursement based on capacity used if it more accurately represents the benefit conferred on the development by the prior improvements. For example if the new development uses 40% of the capacity of the line or street extension that cost $10,000.00 the reimbursement should be $4,000.00.

F. Application for Reimbursement. Any individual or developer who is required to install public improvements costing more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) may submit an application to the City for recovery of a pro rata share of the cost of constructing those privately funded public improvements from persons who will use or benefit from those public improvements and who did not share in the cost of the improvements. The application for reimbursement shall be made on a form approved by the City Attorney and shall include the following information.

4. An engineer's written estimate of the cost of the public improvements or an affidavit and documentation showing the actual cost of the privately funded public improvements (the documentation establishing the cost of the public improvements must be sufficient to satisfy the Vernal City Manager or designee).

G. The application for reimbursement shall be filed with the City Manager within six months after completion of the privately funded public improvements. The City may, but shall not be obligated to attempt to recover a reimbursement for public improvements from any person or subsequent developer whose use of those privately funded public improvements begins prior to filing the application.

The City may reject any incomplete application for reimbursement or any application not accompanied by the required filing fee. The application shall be signed by the person seeking reimbursement and notarized. The applicant shall be notified within fourteen (14) days if the application is accepted or rejected.

The Vernal City Manager shall review the application, and if it is found to be complete, shall execute the application showing that it has been accepted and approved by Vernal City and provide a signed original to the applicant. The City Manager shall, in addition, endorse the following statement contained upon the application:

Notice is hereby given to all persons having an interest in the real property described herein, that pursuant to Vernal City Ordinance Section 16.58.205, any persons developing the land described herein or constructing any improvements thereon are subject to an obligation to make reimbursement for a pro rata share of privately funded public improvements and may not utilize privately funded improvements for the described real property without receiving clearance from Vernal City that the pro rata share of privately funded public improvements obligation has been satisfied.

1. After an application for reimbursement if filed with the City and approved by the City Manager, the applicant shall take responsibility to record or have recorded an original of the final approved application in the official records of Uintah County. The recording fee shall be the responsibility of the applicant.

2. After an application for reimbursement is filed, the applicant shall be under an affirmative duty to notify the City promptly in writing of any subsequent development of land covered by the reimbursement application of which the applicant has knowledge or reason to believe is using or benefitting from the privately funded public improvements.Such notification shall be made to the City within one-hundred twenty (120) days of the development being commenced by permit of the City.

1. Any person intending to develop or subdivide any land or to construct any improvements upon any land which is described in an approved application for reimbursement, shall be under an affirmative obligation to notify the City Planning Office when applying for a building permit or approval or authorization for any development or construction, of the existence of the recorded reimbursement agreement and to make suitable arrangements for payment of the pro rata share of the privately funded public improvements which benefit that person's property.

2. Any person who makes any development or construction or connects to or otherwise utilizes or directly benefits from any privately funded public improvements covered by a reimbursement agreement which has been filed and approved by the City, shall be obligated to make reimbursement for the pro rata share of the privately funded public improvements utilized by or benefitting that person's project, development or property prior to commencing construction unless the applicant and City Manager have agreed to a deferred payment arrangement.

1. When a properly completed application for reimbursement has been filed with the City along with the required filing fee, the Vernal City Manager or designee shall promptly review the application for sufficiency and shall notify the applicant of any deficiencies or corrective action needed with respect to the application.

2. Once the application is approved, the Vernal City Manager shall execute a duplicate original of the application and return it to the applicant with instructions to promptly record the approved application with the County Recorder for Uintah County. Verification of recordation shall be provided by the applicant to the Vernal City Manager.

3. Vernal City shall thereafter maintain a file including copies of the documentation provided to establish the cost of the privately funded public improvements and other information which may be necessary to determine the pro rata share of those costs to be assessed against subsequent developers. The City shall maintain an index system showing property with reimbursement agreements.

4. When the City determines that a use of property covered by an approved reimbursement application will benefit from privately funded public improvements, the City shall determine the pro rata share of the cost of those public improvements to be assessed against the owner or developer of the property and shall provide notice to that owner or developer. The City shall be under no obligation to approve or issue any building permit or approval for subdivision or other development of property until satisfactory arrangements have been made for reimbursement to the applicant for the pro rata share of the privately funded public improvements.

6. The City shall not be responsible for locating any beneficiary, survivor, assignee, or other successor in interest entitled to reimbursement. Any collected funds unclaimed within two years after the date of collection shall be forwarded to the Utah State Unclaimed Properties Office in the name of the applicant or the known assignee or beneficiary of those funds.

M. Violation. Any person or entity that receives the benefit of privately funded public improvements and is under obligation to provide a pro rata reimbursement pursuant to the terms of this ordinance and fails and refuses to do so or otherwise violates this ordinance, shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor. In addition to any fine, incarceration or other penalty which may be imposed for conviction of a class B misdemeanor, a person or entity convicted of violation of this ordinance shall be ordered by the court to make restitution in the amount of the pro rata share of the privately funded public improvements as to which that person received the benefit.

(Ord. 2008-08, Amended, 07/16/2008, Prior Text; Ord. 2008-01, Amended, 02/20/2008, Prior Text; Ord. 2003-03, Amended, 02/27/2003, Prior Text; Ord. 2001-19, Amended, 10/03/2001, Prior Text; Ord. 2001-04, Add, 06/20/2001)