Minnesota Statutes 1996, Chapter 429.

SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS

429.011 Definitions.

Subdivision 1. Application. For the purpose of this
chapter the terms defined in this section shall have the
meanings ascribed to them.

Subd. 2. Municipality. "Municipality" means any city
of the second, third, or fourth class however organized, or any
statutory city or any town as defined in section 368.01.

Subd. 2a. Municipality. "Municipality" also includes
a county in the case of construction, reconstruction or
improvement of a county state-aid highway or county highway as
defined in section 160.02 including curbs and gutters and storm
sewers and includes a county exercising its powers and duties
under section 444.075, subdivision 1.

Subd. 2b. Municipality. "Municipality" also includes
any town not having the powers granted herein pursuant to any
other law in the case of construction, reconstruction or
improvement of a town road including curbs and gutters and storm
sewers and in the case of those improvements designated in
section 429.021, subdivision 1, clauses (1), (2), (4), (5), (6),
(7), (8), and (10).

Subd. 3. Council. "Council" means the body of the
city having general legislative powers, the town board of the
town, or the county board of a county.

Subd. 4. Clerk. "Clerk" means the chief clerical
officer of the municipality.

Subd. 5. Improvement. "Improvement" means any type
of improvement made under authority granted by section 429.021,
and in the case of a county is limited to the construction,
reconstruction, or improvement of a county state-aid highway or
county highway including curbs and gutters and storm sewers.

Subd. 6. Newspaper. "Newspaper" means the official
newspaper of the municipality, or if there is no official
newspaper, a legal newspaper of general circulation in the
municipality.

Subd. 7. Street. "Street" means any street, alley,
or other public way, or any part thereof.

Subd. 8. Utilities commission. "Utilities
commission" means the municipal board or commission, other than
the council, which exercises any authority or control over the
operation of any municipally owned public utility.

Subd. 9. Pedestrian skyway system. "Pedestrian
skyway system" means any system of providing for pedestrian
traffic circulation, mechanical or otherwise, elevated above
ground, within and without the public right of way, and through
or above private property and buildings, and includes
overpasses, bridges, passageways, walkways, concourses,
hallways, corridors, arcades, courts, plazas, elevators,
escalators, heated canopies, and accesses and all fixtures,
furniture, equipment, facilities, services, and appurtenances
which in the judgment of the council will enhance the movement,
safety, security, convenience and enjoyment of pedestrians and
benefit the city and adjoining properties.

Subd. 10. Underground pedestrian concourse.
"Underground pedestrian concourse" means any system of providing
for pedestrian traffic circulation, mechanical or otherwise,
below ground, within and without the public right of way, and
through or below private property, and includes tunnels,
passageways, walkways, concourses, hallways, corridors, arcades,
plazas, elevators, escalators, heated canopies, and accesses and
all fixtures, furniture, equipment, facilities, and
appurtenances which in the judgment of the council will enhance
the movement, safety, security, convenience and enjoyment of
pedestrians and benefit the city and adjoining properties.

Subd. 11. Special lighting system. "Special lighting
system" means lights or light displays of any type located
within or without the public right of way.

Subd. 12. Acquire. "Acquire" includes, but is not
limited to, the obtaining by purchase, condemnation, or leasing
rights or interests in the areas above or below the surface of
the ground of real property or structures or improvements
thereon.

Subd. 13. Public mall, plaza, or courtyard. "Public
mall, plaza, or courtyard" means any wholly or partly opened or
enclosed public area adjacent to or attached to a wall, fence,
commercial structure, hotel, or any other building and designed
as a place for passive recreation, public entertainment,
exhibition and education, or a pedestrian walk.

Subd. 14. Fire protection system. "Fire protection
system" means pipes, standpipes, sprinklers, control systems and
other devices and equipment installed in or outside a building
for the primary purpose of eliminating or reducing the spread of
fire in the building or providing for safe evacuation of the
building, whether the devices and equipment are publicly or
privately owned.

Subd. 15. Highway sound barriers. "Highway sound
barriers" means sound abatement walls erected along highways to
reduce noise levels attributable to vehicular traffic.

Subd. 16. On-site water contaminant improvements.
"On-site water contaminant improvements" means pipes, wells, and
other devices and equipment installed in or outside a building
for the primary purpose of eliminating water contamination
caused by lead or other toxic or health threatening substances
in the water, whether the improvements so installed are publicly
or privately owned.

HIST: 1953 c 398 s 1; 1961 c 338 s 1; 1969 c 741 s 1-3; 1971 c
617 s 1-4; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1973 c 636 s 1; 1973 c 702 s
22; 1974 c 233 s 1; 1976 c 147 s 1; 1978 c 634 s 1,2; 1979 c 330
s 1; 1983 c 9 s 1; 1984 c 478 s 1; 1984 c 591 s 1; 1986 c 315 s
1; 1987 c 138 s 1; 1988 c 564 s 1; 1994 c 614 s 5


429.021 Local improvements, council powers.

Subdivision 1. Improvements authorized. The council
of a municipality shall have power to make the following
improvements:

(1) To acquire, open, and widen any street, and to improve
the same by constructing, reconstructing, and maintaining
sidewalks, pavement, gutters, curbs, and vehicle parking strips
of any material, or by grading, graveling, oiling, or otherwise
improving the same, including the beautification thereof and
including storm sewers or other street drainage and connections
from sewer, water, or similar mains to curb lines.

(2) To acquire, develop, construct, reconstruct, extend,
and maintain storm and sanitary sewers and systems, including
outlets, holding areas and ponds, treatment plants, pumps, lift
stations, service connections, and other appurtenances of a
sewer system, within and without the corporate limits.

(3) To construct, reconstruct, extend, and maintain steam
heating mains.

(4) To install, replace, extend, and maintain street lights
and street lighting systems and special lighting systems.

(5) To acquire, improve, construct, reconstruct, extend,
and maintain water works systems, including mains, valves,
hydrants, service connections, wells, pumps, reservoirs, tanks,
treatment plants, and other appurtenances of a water works
system, within and without the corporate limits.

(6) To acquire, improve and equip parks, open space areas,
playgrounds, and recreational facilities within or without the
corporate limits.

(7) To plant trees on streets and provide for their
trimming, care, and removal.

(8) To abate nuisances and to drain swamps, marshes, and
ponds on public or private property and to fill the same.

(9) To construct, reconstruct, extend, and maintain dikes
and other flood control works.

(10) To construct, reconstruct, extend, and maintain
retaining walls and area walls.

(11) To acquire, construct, reconstruct, improve, alter,
extend, operate, maintain, and promote a pedestrian skyway
system. Such improvement may be made upon a petition pursuant
to section 429.031, subdivision 3.

(12) To acquire, construct, reconstruct, extend, operate,
maintain, and promote underground pedestrian concourses.

(13) To acquire, construct, improve, alter, extend,
operate, maintain, and promote public malls, plazas or
courtyards.

(14) To construct, reconstruct, extend, and maintain
district heating systems.

(15) To construct, reconstruct, alter, extend, operate,
maintain, and promote fire protection systems in existing
buildings, but only upon a petition pursuant to section 429.031,
subdivision 3.

(16) To acquire, construct, reconstruct, improve, alter,
extend, and maintain highway sound barriers.

Subd. 2. Combining improvements. An improvement on
two or more streets or two or more types of improvement in or on
the same street or streets or different streets may be included
in one proceeding and conducted as one improvement.

Subd. 3. Relation to charter and other laws. When
any portion of the cost of an improvement is defrayed by special
assessments, the procedure prescribed in this chapter shall be
followed unless the council determines to proceed under charter
provisions; but this chapter does not prescribe the procedure to
be followed by a municipality in making improvements financed
without the use of special assessments.

If the council determines to proceed under charter
provisions for special assessments, such provisions shall be
deemed to include a requirement that notices of proposed
assessments inform property owners of the procedures they must
follow under the charter in order to appeal the assessments to
district court. The notices shall also inform property owners
of the provisions of sections 435.193 to 435.195 and the
existence of any deferment procedure established pursuant
thereto in the municipality.

Charter provisions shall also be deemed to require that
when the council determines to make any improvement, it shall
let the contract for all or part of the work, or order all or
part of the work done by day labor or otherwise as may be
authorized by the charter, no later than one year after the
adoption of the resolution ordering such improvement, unless a
different time limit is specifically stated in the resolution
ordering the improvement.

HIST: 1953 c 398 s 2; 1965 c 877 s 1; 1971 c 617 s 5; 1973 c
201 s 1; 1974 c 233 s 2; 1974 c 314 s 1; 1976 c 195 s 1; 1978 c
518 s 1; 1979 c 330 s 2; 1981 c 334 s 5; 1984 c 548 s 4; 1984 c
582 s 3; 1984 c 591 s 2; 1984 c 633 s 2; 1987 c 138 s 2


429.031 Preliminary plans, hearings.

Subdivision 1. Preparation of plans, notice of hearing.
(a) Before the municipality awards a contract for an
improvement or orders it made by day labor, or before the
municipality may assess any portion of the cost of an
improvement to be made under a cooperative agreement with the
state or another political subdivision for sharing the cost of
making the improvement, the council shall hold a public hearing
on the proposed improvement following two publications in the
newspaper of a notice stating the time and place of the hearing,
the general nature of the improvement, the estimated cost, and
the area proposed to be assessed. The two publications must be
a week apart, and the hearing must be at least three days after
the second publication. Not less than ten days before the
hearing, notice of the hearing must also be mailed to the owner
of each parcel within the area proposed to be assessed, but
failure to give mailed notice or any defects in the notice does
not invalidate the proceedings. For the purpose of giving
mailed notice, owners are those shown as owners on the records
of the county auditor or, in any county where tax statements are
mailed by the county treasurer, on the records of the county
treasurer; but other appropriate records may be used for this
purpose. For properties that are tax exempt or subject to
taxation on a gross earnings basis and are not listed on the
records of the county auditor or the county treasurer, the
owners may be ascertained by any practicable means, and mailed
notice must be given them as provided in this subdivision.

(b) Before the adoption of a resolution ordering the
improvement, the council shall secure from the city engineer or
some other competent person of its selection a report advising
it in a preliminary way as to whether the proposed improvement
is necessary, cost-effective, and feasible and as to whether it
should best be made as proposed or in connection with some other
improvement. The report must also include the estimated cost of
the improvement as recommended. No error or omission in the
report invalidates the proceeding unless it materially
prejudices the interests of an owner.

(c) If the report is not prepared by an employee of a
municipality, the compensation for preparing the report under
this subdivision must be based on the following factors:

(1) the time and labor required;

(2) the experience and knowledge of the preparer;

(3) the complexity and novelty of the problems involved;
and

(4) the extent of the responsibilities assumed.

(d) The compensation must not be based primarily on a
percentage of the estimated cost of the improvement.

(e) The council may also take other steps prior to the
hearing, including, among other things, the preparation of plans
and specifications and the advertisement for bids that will in
its judgment provide helpful information in determining the
desirability and feasibility of the improvement.

(f) The hearing may be adjourned from time to time, and a
resolution ordering the improvement may be adopted at any time
within six months after the date of the hearing by vote of a
majority of all members of the council when the improvement has
been petitioned for by the owners of not less than 35 percent in
frontage of the real property abutting on the streets named in
the petition as the location of the improvement. When there has
been no such petition, the resolution may be adopted only by
vote of four-fifths of all members of the council; provided that
if the mayor of the municipality is a member of the council but
has no vote or votes only in case of a tie, the mayor is not
deemed to be a member for the purpose of determining a
four-fifths majority vote.

(g) The resolution ordering the improvement may reduce, but
not increase, the extent of the improvement as stated in the
notice of hearing.

Subd. 2. Approval by park board or utilities
commission. A resolution ordering a park improvement may be
adopted only by a four-fifths vote of the council and shall also
be approved by the park board, if there is one; provided, that
if the mayor of the municipality is a member of the council but
has no vote or votes only in case of a tie, the mayor shall not
be deemed to be a member for the purpose of determining such
four-fifths majority vote. A resolution ordering an improvement
of the water, sewer, steam heating, street lighting or other
facility over which a utilities commission has jurisdiction
shall also be approved by the utilities commission.

Subd. 3. Petition by all owners. Whenever all owners
of real property abutting upon any street named as the location
of any improvement shall petition the council to construct the
improvement and to assess the entire cost against their
property, the council may, without a public hearing, adopt a
resolution determining such fact and ordering the improvement.
The validity of the resolution shall not be questioned by any
taxpayer or property owner or the municipality unless an action
for that purpose is commenced within 30 days after adoption of
the resolution as provided in section 429.036. Nothing herein
prevents any property owner from questioning the amount or
validity of the special assessment against the owner's property
pursuant to section 429.081. In the case of a petition for the
municipality to own and install a fire protection system, a
pedestrian skyway system, or on-site water contaminant
improvements, the petition must contain or be accompanied by an
undertaking satisfactory to the city by the petitioner that the
petitioner will grant the municipality the necessary property
interest in the building to permit the city to enter upon the
property and the building to construct, maintain, and operate
the fire protection system, pedestrian skyway system, or on-site
water contaminant improvements. In the case of a petition for
the installation of a privately owned fire protection system, a
privately owned pedestrian skyway system, or privately owned
on-site water contaminant improvements, the petition shall
contain the plans and specifications for the improvement, the
estimated cost of the improvement and a statement indicating
whether the city or the owner will contract for the construction
of the improvement. If the owner is contracting for the
construction of the improvement, the city shall not approve the
petition until it has reviewed and approved the plans,
specifications, and cost estimates contained in the petition.
The construction cost financed under section 429.091 shall not
exceed the amount of the cost estimate contained in the
petition. In the case of a petition for the installation of a
fire protection system, a pedestrian skyway system, or on-site
water contaminant improvements, the petitioner may request
abandonment of the improvement at any time after it has been
ordered pursuant to subdivision 1 and before contracts have been
awarded for the construction of the improvement under section
429.041, subdivision 2. If such a request is received, the city
council shall abandon the proceedings but in such case the
petitioner shall reimburse the city for any and all expenses
incurred by the city in connection with the improvement.

HIST: 1953 c 398 s 3; 1955 c 811 s 1; 1957 c 430 s 1; 1961 c
525 s 1,2; 1963 c 771 s 1; 1965 c 877 s 2; 1967 c 57 s 1,2; 1973
c 123 art 5 s 7; 1984 c 548 s 5; 1984 c 582 s 4; 1984 c 591 s 3;
1984 c 633 s 3; 1986 c 444; 1994 c 614 s 6; 1996 c 402 s 1


429.035 Improvements, petition.

When any petition for the making of any improvement in any
statutory city, town, or city of the second, third, or fourth
class, however organized, for the cost of which special
assessments may be, in whole or in part, levied therefor, is
presented to the governing body of the municipality, this body
shall, by resolution, determine whether or not the petition has
been signed by the required percentage of owners of property
affected thereby.

HIST: (1918-33) 1927 c 311 s 1; 1953 c 398 s 12; 1961 c 338 s
2; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7


429.036 Appeal from determination of legality of
petition.

Any person, being aggrieved by this determination, may
appeal to the district court of the county in which the property
is located by serving upon the clerk of the municipality, within
30 days after the adoption and publication of the resolution, a
notice of appeal briefly stating the grounds of appeal and
giving a bond in the penal sum of $250, in which the
municipality shall be named as obligee, to be approved by the
clerk of the municipality, conditioned that the appellant will
duly prosecute the appeal, pay all costs and disbursements which
may be adjudged against the appellant, and abide by the order of
the court. The clerk shall furnish the appellant a certified
copy of the petition, or any part thereof, on being paid by
appellant of the proper charges therefor. The appeal shall be
placed upon the calendar of the next general term commencing
more than 30 days after the date of serving the notice and
filing the bond and shall be tried as are other appeals in such
cases. Unless reversed upon the appeal, the determination of
the governing body as to the sufficiency of the petition shall
be final and conclusive.

HIST: (1918-34) 1927 c 311 s 2; 1986 c 444


429.041 Council procedure.

Subdivision 1. Plans and specifications, advertisement
for bids. When the council determines to make any
improvement, it shall let the contract for all or part of the
work, or order all or part of the work done by day labor or
otherwise as authorized by subdivision 2, no later than one year
after the adoption of the resolution ordering such improvement,
unless a different time limit is specifically stated in the
resolution ordering the improvement. The council shall cause
plans and specifications of the improvement to be made, or if
previously made, to be modified, if necessary, and to be
approved and filed with the clerk, and if the estimated cost
exceeds $25,000, shall advertise for bids for the improvement in
the newspaper and such other papers and for such length of time
as it may deem advisable. If the estimated cost exceeds
$100,000, publication shall be made no less than three weeks
before the last day for submission of bids once in the newspaper
and at least once in either a newspaper published in a city of
the first class or a trade paper. To be eligible as such a
trade paper, a publication shall have all the qualifications of
a legal newspaper except that instead of the requirement that it
shall contain general and local news, such trade paper shall
contain building and construction news of interest to
contractors in this state, among whom it shall have a general
circulation. The advertisement shall specify the work to be
done, shall state the time when the bids will be publicly opened
for consideration by the council, which shall be not less than
ten days after the first publication of the advertisement when
the estimated cost is less than $100,000 and not less than three
weeks after such publication in other cases, and shall state
that no bids will be considered unless sealed and filed with the
clerk and accompanied by a cash deposit, cashier's check, bid
bond, or certified check payable to the clerk, for such
percentage of the amount of the bid as the council may specify.
In providing for the advertisement for bids the council may
direct that the bids shall be opened publicly by two or more
designated officers or agents of the municipality and tabulated
in advance of the meeting at which they are to be considered by
the council. Nothing herein shall prevent the council from
advertising separately for various portions of the work involved
in an improvement, or from itself, supplying by such means as
may be otherwise authorized by law, all or any part of the
materials, supplies, or equipment to be used in the improvement
or from combining two or more improvements in a single set of
plans and specifications or a single contract.

Subd. 2. Contracts; day labor. In contracting for an
improvement, the council shall require the execution of one or
more written contracts and bonds, conditioned as required by
law. The council shall award the contract to the lowest
responsible bidder or it may reject all bids. If any bidder to
whom a contract is awarded fails to enter promptly into a
written contract and to furnish the required bond, the
defaulting bidder shall forfeit to the municipality the amount
of the defaulter's cash deposit, cashier's check, bid bond, or
certified check, and the council may thereupon award the
contract to the next lowest responsible bidder. When it appears
to the council that the cost of the entire work projected will
be less than $25,000, or whenever no bid is submitted after
proper advertisement or the only bids submitted are higher than
the engineer's estimate, the council may advertise for new bids
or, without advertising for bids, directly purchase the
materials for the work and do it by the employment of day labor
or in any other manner the council considers proper. The
council may have the work supervised by the city engineer or
other qualified person but shall have the work supervised by a
registered engineer if done by day labor and it appears to the
council that the entire cost of all work and materials for the
improvement will be more than $10,000. In case of improper
construction or unreasonable delay in the prosecution of the
work by the contractor, the council may order and cause the
suspension of the work at any time and relet the contract, or
order a reconstruction of any portion of the work improperly
done, and where the cost of completion or reconstruction
necessary will be less than $25,000, the council may do it by
the employment of day labor.

Subd. 3. Day labor; detailed report. When the
council has performed construction work by day labor, it shall
cause a detailed report to be filed with the clerk and certified
by the registered engineer or other person in charge, if there
is no registered engineer. The report shall show:

(a) the complete cost of the construction;

(b) final quantities of the various units of work done;

(c) materials furnished for the project and the cost of
each item thereof;

(d) cost of labor, cost of equipment hired, and supervisory
costs.

The report shall have attached a certificate by the
registered engineer or other person in charge that the work was
done according to the plans and specifications, or, if there
were any deviations from them, an itemized statement of those
deviations.

Subd. 4. Alternate procedure on street improvements.
As to any improvement or improvements consisting of grading,
graveling, or bituminous surfacing of streets and alleys, the
council may proceed in the manner provided in this chapter,
except that it may

(1) order the work done by day labor, regardless of the
estimated cost of such improvement or improvements, and

(2) use municipal equipment or hire equipment and purchase
materials for all such improvements to be done by day labor in
any 12-month period by advertising once therefor, such
advertisement to call for bids for the furnishing of equipment,
if the municipality does not use its own equipment, and for
materials at unit prices based on the quantities which the
council estimates will be required.

(3) contract at one time on a unit price basis for part or
all of the street improvements to be constructed by the
municipality during the current year, including improvements
which may thereafter be ordered constructed.

Subd. 5. Cooperation with state or local government.
When an improvement is made under a cooperative agreement
with the state or another political subdivision by the terms of
which the state or other subdivision is to construct or contract
to construct the improvement, it shall not be necessary to
comply with subdivisions 1 and 2.

Subd. 6. Percentage payment on engineer's estimate.
In case the contractor properly performs the work, the council
shall, from month to month before completion of the work, pay
the contractor not to exceed 95 percent of the amount already
earned under the contract, upon the estimate of the engineer or
other competent person selected by the council, and the contract
shall so provide, and shall further agree that when the work is
95 percent or more completed upon the recommendation of the
engineer such portions of the retained price shall be released
as the governing body of the municipality determines are not
required to be retained to protect the municipality's interest
in satisfactory completion of the contract. Failure to pay any
amount due and payable under the terms of the contract within 30
days of a monthly estimate or 90 days after the final estimate
of the amount earned shall obligate the municipality to pay to
the contractor simple interest on the past due amount at an
annual rate equal to the monthly index of long term United
States bond yields for the month prior to the month in which
this obligation is incurred plus an additional one percent per
annum. Interest shall not be imposed with respect to any amount
which a municipality may legally withhold as a result of breach
of contract or other contractual claim or if the delay is caused
by the contractor.

Subd. 7. Modification of contracts. After work has
been commenced on an improvement undertaken pursuant to a
contract awarded on a unit price basis the council may, without
advertising for bids, authorize changes in the contract so as to
include additional units of work at the same unit price if the
cost of the additional work does not exceed 25 percent of the
original contract price. Original contract price means that
figure determined by multiplying the estimated number of units
required by the unit price.

HIST: 1953 c 398 s 4; 1957 c 430 s 2,3; 1961 c 525 s 3,4; 1973
c 123 art 5 s 7; 1976 c 156 s 1; 1977 c 278 s 1; 1978 c 518 s 2;
1980 c 464 s 8; 1985 c 174 s 3; 1986 c 444; 1993 c 38 s 1,2

* NOTE: See section 471.345.


429.051 Apportionment of cost.

The cost of any improvement, or any part thereof, may be
assessed upon property benefited by the improvement, based upon
the benefits received, whether or not the property abuts on the
improvement and whether or not any part of the cost of the
improvement is paid from the county state-aid highway fund, the
municipal state-aid street fund, or the trunk highway fund. The
area assessed may be less than but may not exceed the area
proposed to be assessed as stated in the notice of hearing on
the improvement, except as provided below. The municipality may
pay such portion of the cost of the improvement as the council
may determine from general ad valorem tax levies or from other
revenues or funds of the municipality available for the
purpose. The municipality may subsequently reimburse itself for
all or any of the portion of the cost of a water, storm sewer,
or sanitary sewer improvement so paid by levying additional
assessments upon any properties abutting on but not previously
assessed for the improvement, on notice and hearing as provided
for the assessments initially made. To the extent that such an
improvement benefits nonabutting properties which may be served
by the improvement when one or more later extensions or
improvements are made but which are not initially assessed
therefor, the municipality may also reimburse itself by adding
all or any of the portion of the cost so paid to the assessments
levied for any of such later extensions or improvements,
provided that notice that such additional amount will be
assessed is included in the notice of hearing on the making of
such extensions or improvements. The additional assessments
herein authorized may be made whether or not the properties
assessed were included in the area described in the notice of
hearing on the making of the original improvement.

In any city of the fourth class electing to proceed under a
home rule charter as provided in this chapter, which charter
provides for a board of water commissioners and authorizes such
board to assess a water frontage tax to defray the cost of
construction of water mains, such board may assess the tax based
upon the benefits received and without regard to any charter
limitation on the amount that may be assessed for each lineal
foot of property abutting on the water main. The water frontage
tax shall be imposed according to the procedure and, except as
herein provided, subject to the limitations of the charter of
the city.

HIST: 1953 c 398 s 5; 1955 c 842 s 1; 1957 c 40 s 1; 1959 c
490 s 1; 1961 c 286 s 1


429.061 Assessment procedure.

Subdivision 1. Calculation, notice. At any time
after the expense incurred or to be incurred in making an
improvement shall be calculated under the direction of the
council, the council shall determine by resolution the amount of
the total expense the municipality will pay, other than the
amount, if any, which it will pay as a property owner, and the
amount to be assessed. If a county proposes to assess within
the boundaries of a city for a county state-aid highway or
county highway, including curbs, gutters, and storm sewers, the
resolution must include the portion of the cost proposed to be
assessed within the city. The county shall forward the
resolution to the city and it may not proceed with the
assessment procedure nor may the county allocate any cost under
this section for property within the city unless the city
council adopts the resolution approving the assessment.
Thereupon the clerk, with the assistance of the engineer or
other qualified person selected by the council, shall calculate
the proper amount to be specially assessed for the improvement
against every assessable lot, piece or parcel of land, without
regard to cash valuation, in accordance with the provisions of
section 429.051. The proposed assessment roll shall be filed
with the clerk and be open to public inspection. The clerk
shall thereupon, under the council's direction, publish notice
that the council will meet to consider the proposed assessment.
Such notice shall be published in the newspaper at least once
and shall be mailed to the owner of each parcel described in the
assessment roll. For the purpose of giving mailed notice under
this subdivision, owners shall be those shown to be such on the
records of the county auditor or, in any county where tax
statements are mailed by the county treasurer, on the records of
the county treasurer; but other appropriate records may be used
for this purpose. Such publication and mailing shall be no less
than two weeks prior to such meeting of the council. Except as
to the owners of tax exempt property or property taxes on a
gross earnings basis, every property owner whose name does not
appear on the records of the county auditor or the county
treasurer shall be deemed to have waived such mailed notice
unless the owner has requested in writing that the county
auditor or county treasurer, as the case may be, include the
name on the records for such purpose. Such notice shall state
the date, time, and place of such meeting, the general nature of
the improvement, the area proposed to be assessed, the total
amount of the proposed assessment, that the proposed assessment
roll is on the file with the clerk, and that written or oral
objections thereto by any property owner will be considered.
The notice must also state that no appeal may be taken as to the
amount of any assessment adopted pursuant to subdivision 2,
unless a written objection signed by the affected property owner
is filed with the municipal clerk prior to the assessment
hearing or presented to the presiding officer at the hearing.
The notice shall also state that an owner may appeal an
assessment to district court pursuant to section 429.081 by
serving notice of the appeal upon the mayor or clerk of the
municipality within 30 days after the adoption of the assessment
and filing such notice with the district court within ten days
after service upon the mayor or clerk. The notice shall also
inform property owners of the provisions of sections 435.193 to
435.195 and the existence of any deferment procedure established
pursuant thereto in the municipality. In addition, the notice
mailed to the owner must state in clear language the following
information:

(1) the amount to be specially assessed against that
particular lot, piece, or parcel of land;

(2) adoption by the council of the proposed assessment may
be taken at the hearing;

(3) the right of the property owner to prepay the entire
assessment and the person to whom prepayment must be made;

(4) whether partial prepayment of the assessment has been
authorized by ordinance;

(5) the time within which prepayment may be made without
the assessment of interest; and

(6) the rate of interest to be accrued if the assessment is
not prepaid within the required time period.

Subd. 2. Adoption; interest. At such meeting or at
any adjournment thereof the council shall hear and pass upon all
objections to the proposed assessment, whether presented orally
or in writing. The council may amend the proposed assessment as
to any parcel and by resolution adopt the same as the special
assessment against the lands named in the assessment roll.
Notice of any adjournment of the hearing shall be adequate if
the minutes of the meeting so adjourned show the time and place
when and where the hearing is to be continued.

The council may consider any objection to the amount of a
proposed assessment as to a specific parcel of land at an
adjourned hearing upon further notice to the affected property
owner as it deems advisable. At the adjourned hearing the
council or a committee of it may hear further written or oral
testimony on behalf of the objecting property owner and may
consider further written or oral testimony from appropriate city
officials and other witnesses as to the amount of the
assessment. The council or committee shall prepare a record of
the proceedings at the adjourned hearing and written findings as
to the amount of the assessment. The amount of the assessment
as finally determined by the council shall become a part of the
adopted assessment roll. No appeal may be taken as to the
amount of any assessment adopted under this section unless
written objection signed by the affected property owner is filed
with the municipal clerk prior to the assessment hearing or
presented to the presiding officer at the hearing. All
objections to the assessments not received at the assessment
hearing in the manner prescribed by this subdivision are waived,
unless the failure to object at the assessment hearing is due to
a reasonable cause.

If the adopted assessment differs from the proposed
assessment as to any particular lot, piece, or parcel of land,
the clerk must mail to the owner a notice stating the amount of
the adopted assessment. Owners must also be notified by mail of
any changes adopted by the council in interest rates or
prepayment requirements from those contained in the notice of
the proposed assessment.

The assessment, with accruing interest, shall be a lien
upon all private and public property included therein, from the
date of the resolution adopting the assessment, concurrent with
general taxes; but the lien shall not be enforceable against
public property as long as it is publicly owned, and during such
period the assessment shall be recoverable from the owner of
such property only in the manner and to the extent provided in
section 435.19. Unless otherwise provided in the resolution,
all assessments shall be payable in equal annual installments
extending over such period, not exceeding 30 years, as the
resolution determines, payable on the first Monday in January in
each year, but the number of installments need not be uniform
for all assessments included in a single assessment roll if a
uniform criterion for determining the number of installments is
provided by the resolution. Assessments on property located in
a targeted neighborhood as defined in Laws 1987, chapter 386,
article 6, section 4, may be payable in variable annual
installments if the resolution provides for a variable payment.
The first installment of each assessment shall be included in
the first tax rolls completed after its adoption and shall be
payable in the same year as the taxes contained therein; except
that the payment of the first installment of any assessment
levied upon unimproved property may be deferred until a
designated future year, or until the platting of the property or
the construction of improvements thereon, upon such terms and
conditions and based upon such standards and criteria as may be
provided by resolution of the council. If special assessments
against the property have been deferred pursuant to this
subdivision, the governmental unit shall file with the county
recorder in the county in which the property is located a
certificate containing the legal description of the affected
property and of the amount deferred. In any event, every
assessment the payment of which is so deferred, when it becomes
payable, shall be divided into a number of installments such
that the last installment thereof will be payable not more than
30 years after the levy of the assessment. All assessments
shall bear interest at such rate as the resolution determines.
To the first installment of each assessment shall be added
interest on the entire assessment from a date specified in the
resolution levying the assessment, not earlier than the date of
the resolution, until December 31 of the year in which the first
installment is payable, and to each subsequent installment shall
be added interest for one year on all unpaid installments; or
alternatively, any assessment may be made payable in equal
annual installments including principal and interest, each in
the amount annually required to pay the principal over such
period with interest at such rate as the resolution determines,
not exceeding the maximum period and rate specified above. In
the latter event no prepayment shall be accepted under
subdivision 3 without payment of all installments due to and
including December 31 of the year of prepayment, together with
the original principal amount reduced only by the amounts of
principal included in such installments, computed on an annual
amortization basis. When payment of an assessment is deferred,
as authorized in this subdivision, interest thereon for the
period of deferment may be made payable annually at the same
times as the principal installments of the assessment would have
been payable if not deferred; or interest for this period may be
added to the principal amount of the assessment when it becomes
payable; or, if so provided in the resolution levying the
assessment, interest thereon to December 31 of the year before
the first installment is payable may be forgiven.

Subd. 3. Transmitted to auditor, prepayment. After
the adoption of the assessment, the clerk shall transmit a
certified duplicate of the assessment roll with each
installment, including interest, set forth separately to the
county auditor of the county to be extended on the proper tax
lists of the county; but in lieu of such certification, the
council may in its s special assessments and taxes shall be credited to such
improvement fund.

HIST: 1953 c 398 s 10; 1955 c 811 s 6; 1963 c 771 s 5; 1965 c
323 s 2; 1973 c 337 s 1; 1974 c 340 s 1,2; 1984 c 548 s 7; 1984
c 582 s 7; 1984 c 591 s 6; 1984 c 633 s 5; 1986 c 444


429.111 Charter provisions, effect.

Any city operating under a home rule charter may proceed
either under this chapter or under its charter in making an
improvement unless a home rule charter or amendment adopted
after April 17, 1953, provides for making such improvement under
this chapter or under the charter exclusively.

HIST: 1953 c 398 s 11; 1955 c 811 s 7; 1976 c 44 s 39

==429.misc1996 Minn. Stats. repealed, etc. secs in chap 429
429.01 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13 subd 1
429.02 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13 subd 1
429.03 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13 subd 1
429.04 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13
429.05 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13 subd 1
429.06 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13 subd 1
429.07 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13
429.08 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13 subd 1
429.09 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13
429.10 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13
429.11 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13
429.12-429.18 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13
429.185 Repealed, 1949 c 314 s 3
429.19 Renumbered 429.035
429.20 Renumbered 429.036
429.21-429.29 Repealed, 1953 c 398 s 13
429.30 Renumbered 435.36 subdivision 1
429.31 Renumbered 435.36 subd 2

Copyright 1996 by the Office of Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota.

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