§ 27.10.020. Procedures for creating, altering and abolishing service areas.

A.

Initiation. Establishment of a service area, alteration of the boundaries of an existing service area, abolition of a service area, or other changes with respect to a service area may be initiated by the assembly or the administration of the municipality by introduction of an ordinance and, in the case of residents or owners of property within the service area, within the area proposed for annexation or affected by a proposed change of the service area, by filing a petition with the department of community planning.

B.

Duties of department of community planning. The department of community planning is responsible for receiving petitions from residents or owners with respect to service areas, and for obtaining comments and making recommendations to the mayor, the assembly and the administration.

C.

Petitions. A person desiring legislative action with respect to a service area shall obtain a petition from the department of community planning in a form prescribed by that department. The form shall make provision for insertion of the general description of the area proposed as a service area or proposed for annexation or alteration of boundaries, the services that petitioner is requesting, and the service area, if any, he wishes annexation to or detachment from. A petition for annexation shall include but shall not be limited to the following information:

Example:

Area to be annexed: Xerox Manor Subdivision.

Annexed to: Service Area No. 92, Seaview Subdivision.

Services: Roads and drainage.

D.

Estimate as to dimensions. The department of community planning shall give the petitioner a tentative estimate as to the dimensions of a workable service area or annexation to or detachment from a service area so that the petitioner will know the probable dimensions of the service area, or change to an existing service area, that would be recommended for approval by the department of community planning to the municipal administration and the assembly. The department of community planning shall, in all instances where it is feasible, draw service area boundaries in conformity with the boundaries of voter districts and precincts as established by the municipal clerk and the office of the lieutenant governor of the state. The department may, in its discretion, withhold its approval until the petitioner has obtained the signatures of at least ten percent of all of the qualified voters residing within the affected area, or, if there are no qualified voters residing within such area, then 100 percent of the owners of the real property within such area.

E.

Submission of petition. After the petitioner has obtained a petition in accordance with the terms of subsection D of this section, the petitioner shall submit the petition to the department of community planning, which shall log in the petition and give the petitioner a photocopy of the logged-in petition.

F.

Verification of sufficiency of petition. The department of community planning shall verify the residency of the persons signing the petition as residents, and, if there are no residents, the department shall verify the property owners by a review of the records of the division of assessment or other sources of information regarding property ownership. If a defect in the petition is found, or if there are an insufficient number of signatures, then petitioner shall be notified of such defect or insufficiency by the department so that he may correct the deficiency or obtain sufficient signatures. The department may provide a reasonable time within which to correct such deficiency or within which to obtain additional signatures, but in no event shall a petition which is returned for a defect or insufficiency of signatures be considered if submitted more than six months following the return of the petition to the petitioner.

G.

Comments by municipal departments. If there are no defects or if the defect is corrected, the department of community planning shall circulate copies of the petition to all departments of the municipality which may have an interest in the subject matter of the petition and shall request comment upon the petition within two weeks.

H.

Preparation of ordinance. If there is no strong objection to the creation of the proposed service area, or the proposed annexation or other action with respect to the service area expressed in the returned comments, the department of community planning shall request that the graphics and publications division of the department of information systems prepare a map and a legal description of the affected area, and the department shall prepare an ordinance, with the map, to accomplish the action petitioned for.

I.

Objections. if there is a strong objection expressed by one or more municipal departments, the department of community planning shall notify the petitioner and attempt to arrange a meeting with such persons as the department may designate. If agreement is obtained as to any changes, then the proposed service area, with the changes, or the proposed annexation or alteration of boundaries, with the changes, shall be submitted to the graphics division for a map, and a legal description of the area shall be prepared. An ordinance shall thereafter be prepared to accomplish the action petitioned for, reflecting the changes agreed upon. If agreement is not reached, then the action requested shall be used as a basis for preparation of a map of the area affected. An appropriate ordinance shall thereafter be prepared to accomplish the action petitioned for. In addition, the department of community planning shall prepare a memorandum setting forth the changes urged by that department, which are not accepted by the petitioner, and the reason for urging the particular changes. A copy of such memorandum shall be given to the petitioner in sufficient time so that the petitioner may also present a memorandum to be incorporated with materials to be submitted to the administration and assembly with respect to the action requested.

J.

Withdrawal of petition; submission to assembly. If the petition is withdrawn, any withdrawal must be documented and the whole filed in the department of community planning. If the petition is not withdrawn, the petition, map and ordinance will be submitted to the assembly for introduction within a reasonable time.

(AO No. 82-49)