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Introduced Version Senate Bill 41 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 41

(By Senators McCabe, Minard, Foster, Palumbo and Chafin)

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[Introduced January 13, 2010; referred to the Committee on Economic Development; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact §8A-5-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §16-13E-2, §16-13E-4 and §16-13E-7 of said code; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §16-13E-10a, all relating to community enhancement districts; procedures relating to creation or expansion thereof; vesting period for an approved land development plan and plat; and clarifying the applicability of certain statutory provisions to such construction under certain circumstances.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8A-5-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that §16-13E-2, §16-13E-4 and §16-13E-7 of said code be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §16-13E-10a, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 8A. LAND USE PLANNING.

ARTICLE 5. SUBDIVISION OR LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND PLAT.
§8A-5-12. Vested property right.
(a) A vested property right is a right to undertake and complete the land development. The right is established when the land development plan and plat is approved by the planning commission and is only applicable under the terms and conditions of the approved land development plan and plat.
(b) Failure to abide by the terms and conditions of the approved land development plan and plat will result in forfeiture of the right.
(c) Subject to section ten-a, article thirteen-e, chapter sixteen of this code, The vesting period for an approved land development plan and plat which creates the vested property right is five years from the approval of the land development plan and plat by the planning commission.
(d) Without limiting the time when rights might otherwise vest, a landowner's rights vest in a land use or development plan and cannot be affected by a subsequent amendment to a zoning ordinance or action by the planning commission when the landowner:
(1) Obtains or is the beneficiary of a significant affirmative governmental act which remains in effect allowing development of a specific project;
(2) Relies in good faith on the significant affirmative governmental act; and
(3) Incurs extensive obligations or substantial expenses in diligent pursuit of the specific project in reliance on the significant affirmative governmental act.
(e) A vested right is a property right, which cannot be taken without compensation. A court may award damages against the local government in favor of the landowner for monetary losses incurred by the landowner and court costs and attorneys' fees resulting from the local government's bad faith refusal to recognize that the landowner has obtained vested rights.
CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC HEALTH.

ARTICLE 13E. COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT ACT.
§16-13E-2. Definitions.
For purposes of this article:
(a) "Assessment bonds" means special obligation bonds or notes issued by a community enhancement district which are payable from the proceeds of assessments.
(b) "Assessment" means the fee, including interest, paid by the owner of real property located within a community enhancement district to pay for the cost of a project or projects constructed upon or benefitting or protecting such property and administrative expenses related thereto, which fee is in addition to all taxes and other fees levied on the property.
(c) "Board" means a community enhancement board created pursuant to this article.
(d) "Code" means the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended.
(e) "Community enhancement district" or "district" means a community enhancement district created pursuant to this article.
(f) "Cost" means the cost of:
(1) Construction, reconstruction, renovation and acquisition of all lands, structures, real or personal property, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, easements and interests acquired or to be acquired by the district;
(2) All machinery and equipment, including machinery and equipment needed to expand or enhance county or city services to the district;
(3) Financing charges and interest prior to and during construction and, if deemed advisable by the district or governing body, for a limited period after completion of the construction;
(4) Interest and reserves for principal and interest, including costs of municipal bond insurance and any other type of financial guaranty;
(5) Costs of issuance in connection with the issuance of assessment bonds;
(6) The design of extensions, enlargements, additions and improvements to the facilities of any district;
(7) Architectural, engineering, financial and legal services;
(8) Plans, specifications, studies, surveys and estimates of costs and revenues;
(9) Administrative expenses necessary or incident to determining to proceed with any project; and
(10) Other expenses as may be necessary or incident to the construction, acquisition and financing of a project.
(g) "County commission" means the governing body of a county as defined in section one, article one, chapter seven of this code.
(h) "Governing body" means, in the case of a county, the county commission and in the case of a municipality, the mayor and council together, the council or the board of directors as charged with the responsibility of enacting ordinances and determining the public policy of such municipality.
(i) "Governmental agency" means the state government or any agency, department, division or unit thereof; counties; municipalities; any watershed enhancement districts, soil conservation districts, sanitary districts, public service districts, drainage districts, school districts, urban renewal authorities or regional governmental authorities established pursuant to this code.
(j) "Municipality" means a municipality as defined in section two, article one, chapter eight of this code.
(k) "Person" means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, voluntary association or any other type of entity.
(l) "Project" means the design, construction, reconstruction, establishment, acquisition, improvement, renovation, extension, enlargement, equipping, maintenance, repair (including replacements) and start-up operation of water source of supply, treatment, transmission and distribution facilities, sewage treatment, collection and transmission facilities, stormwater systems, police stations, fire stations, libraries, museums, schools, other public buildings, hospitals, piers, docks, terminals, drainage systems, culverts, streets, roads, bridges (including approaches, causeways, viaducts, underpasses and connecting roadways), motor vehicle parking facilities (including parking lots, buildings, ramps, curb-line parking, meters and other facilities deemed necessary, appropriate, useful, convenient or incidental to the regulation, control and parking of motor vehicles), public transportation, public recreation centers, public recreation parks, swimming pools, tennis courts, golf courses, equine facilities, motor vehicle competition and recreational facilities, flood protection or relief projects, or the grading, regrading, paving, repaving, surfacing, resurfacing, curbing, recurbing, widening, lighting or otherwise improving any street, avenue, road, highway, alley or way, or the building or renewing of sidewalks and flood protection; and the terms shall mean and include any project as a whole, and all integral parts thereof, including all necessary, appropriate, useful, convenient or incidental appurtenances and equipment in connection with any one or more of the above.
(m) "Development concept" means the following items, to the extent set forth or specified in the subject subdivision or land development plan and plat:
(1) The maximum aggregate number of lots or parcels into which the subject land is to be subdivided.
(2) The size and boundaries of the individual lots or parcels into which the subject land is to be subdivided.
(3) The density of the land development.
(4) Designation of use of the individual lots or parcels.
(5) The location of roads, streets, parking lots, sidewalks and other paved areas.
(6) The location of ingress and egress for the land development.
(7) Setback lines and distances and buildable areas.
(8) The finished layout and grade of the land.
(n) "Development concept vesting period" means the period commencing upon approval of the subject land development plan and plat by the planning commission and terminating on the maturity date of the subject assessment bonds or tax increment financing obligation. The development concept vesting period pertains only to the vested property right in a development concept that is established upon approval by the planning commission of a land development plan and plat in which a development concept is set forth or specified.
(o) "Five-year vesting period" means the five-year vesting period for an approved land development plan and plat provided under subsection (c), section twelve, article five, chapter eight-a of this code.
§16-13E-4. Petition for creation or expansion of community enhancement district; petition requirements.

(a) The owners of at least sixty-one percent of the real property, determined by acreage, located within the boundaries of the area described in the petition, by metes and bounds or otherwise in a manner sufficient to describe the area, may petition a governing body to create or expand a community enhancement district.
(b) The petition for the creation or expansion of a community enhancement district shall include, where applicable, the following:
(1) The proposed name and proposed boundaries of such district and a list of the names and addresses of all owners of real property within the proposed district;
(2) A detailed project description;
(3) A map showing the proposed project, including all proposed improvements;
(4) A list of estimated project costs and the preliminary plans and specifications for such improvements, if available;
(5) A list of nonproject costs and how they will be financed;
(6) A consultant study outlining the projected assessments, setting forth the methodology for determining the assessments and the methodology for allocating portions of an initial assessment against a parcel expected to be subdivided in the future to the various lots into which the parcel will be subdivided and demonstrating that such assessments will adequately cover any debt service on bonds issued to finance the project and ongoing administrative costs;
(7) A development schedule;
(8) A list of recommended members for the board;
(9) If the project includes water, wastewater or sewer improvements, written evidence from the utility or utilities that will provide service to the district, if any, that said utility or utilities:
(A) Currently has adequate capacity to provide service without significant upgrades or modifications to its treatment, storage or source of supply facilities, except facilities which the community enhancement district will provide as described in the petition;
(B) Will review and approve all plans and specifications for the improvements to determine that the improvements conform to the utility's reasonable requirements and, if the improvement consists of water transmission or distribution facilities, that the improvements provide for adequate fire protection for the district; and
(C) If built in conformance with said plans and specifications, will accept the improvements following their completion, unless such projects are to be owned by the district;
(10) If the project includes improvements other than as set forth in subdivision (9) of this subsection that will be transferred to another governmental agency, written evidence that such agency will accept such transfer, unless such projects are to be owned by the district;
(11) The benefits that can be expected from the creation of the district and the project; and
(12) A certification from each owner of real property within the proposed district who joins in the petition that he or she is granting an assessment against his or her property in such an amount as to pay for the costs of the project and granting a lien for said amount upon said property enforceable in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(c) After reviewing the petition presented pursuant to this section, the governing body may by order or ordinance determine the necessity and economic feasibility of creating a community enhancement district and developing, constructing, acquiring, improving or extending a project therein. If the governing body determines that the creation of a community enhancement district and construction of the project is necessary and economically feasible, it shall set a date for the public meeting required under section five of this article and shall cause the petition to be filed with the clerk of the county commission or the clerk or recorder of the municipality, as the case may be, and be made available for inspection by interested persons before the meeting.
(d) Notwithstanding any other contrary provision of this article, to the contrary nothing in this article shall modify:
(1) The jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission to determine the convenience and necessity of the construction of utility facilities, to resolve disputes between utilities relating to which utility should provide service to a district or otherwise to regulate the orderly development of utility infrastructure in the state; or
(2) The authority of the Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council as to the funding of utility facilities to the extent that loans, loan guarantees, grants or other funding assistance from a state infrastructure agency are involved.
§16-13E-7. Provisions for construction of a project.
(a) After the creation of a community enhancement district and the appointment of the board thereof, the board shall provide by resolution for the construction of the project and shall also provide in the same or subsequent resolutions for the supervision of such work by a professional engineer, governmental agency or any other person designated by the board. The board may provide for the construction of the project by one of the two following methods or any combination thereof:
(1) If there exists a governmental agency with the experience, knowledge and authority to construct the project, the board may elect to enter into a contract with such agency for the construction of all or part of the project or for any other service necessary or incident to the construction of the project, in which case such governmental agency shall be responsible for entering into contracts, subject to the board's approval, with such other persons as may be necessary or incident to the construction of the project; or
(2) The board may elect to enter into one or more contracts with such contractors and other persons as may be necessary or incident to the construction of the project, in which case it shall solicit competitive bids. All contracts for work on any project, the expense of which will exceed $50,000, shall be awarded to the lowest qualified responsible bidder who shall furnish a sufficient performance and payment bond. The board may reject any and all bids and if it rejects all bids, notices shall be published as originally required before any other bids may be received. The board may let portions of the work necessary to complete a project under different contracts.
(b) The resolution described in subsection (a) of this section shall also provide for payment of the cost of the project.
(c) Prior to the construction of the project, the board shall obtain such permits and licenses required by law for the construction and operation of the project.
(d) Prior to bidding a water, wastewater or storm water component of a project, the board shall submit the final plans and specifications to the utility or utilities who will provide the water, wastewater or storm water service for review and written approval.
(e) When a community enhancement district has been created with unanimous consent of the owners of the real property located within the boundaries of the area described by the petition, the provisions of chapter five-g of this code do not apply to the community enhancement district or any construction or project for which it provides. However, this section does not exempt the application of chapter five-g in conjunction with any other method of financing a project pursuant to this code.
§16-13E-10a. Extension of vesting period for land development plans and plats; approval of phases.

(a) The five-year vesting period is extended to the development concept vesting period with respect to the development concept if: (i) The land development will be wholly contained within a community enhancement district; and (ii) either:
(A) Such community enhancement district has been created and is in existence, and such facts have been communicated to the planning commission, at the time the planning commission approves the subject land development plan and plat (whether such plan and plat is denominated final, preliminary, phased preliminary, concept or otherwise); or
(B) Such community enhancement district is created after the initial approval of the subject land development plan and plat and the planning commission subsequently ratifies the approval of such plan and plat with the knowledge of the existence of the community enhancement district; and (iii) assessment bonds or tax increment financing obligations payable from or secured by, in whole, or in part, assessments against real property located within the district are issued within the five-year vesting period.
(b) Nothing herein shall be deemed to extend or otherwise modify the five-year vesting period with respect to items other than those included in the development concept.
(c) When a land development will be wholly contained within a community enhancement district, a land development plan and plat that otherwise pertains to and seeks approval of only a portion or phase of the land development may also contain the development concept for a greater portion, multiple phases or the entirety of the land development if the plan and plat expressly so provides. Approval of a land development plan and plat by the planning commission constitutes approval of, and the establishment of a vested property right in, the entire development concept contained in the land development plan and plat.
(d) This section shall apply to all community enhancement districts, regardless of whether created prior or subsequent to enactment of this section.

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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to revise certain procedures related to creation or expansion of a community enhancement district, the vesting period for an approved land development plan and plat, and construction of a project and clarify the applicability of certain statutory provisions to such construction under certain circumstances.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

§16-13E-10a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.)
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