South Carolina General Assembly
107th Session, 1987-1988

Bill 1222


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               1222
Ratification Number:       569
Act Number                 505
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   To redefine "assessment", "improvements",
                           "improvement district", and "improvement plan"
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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A505, R569, S1222)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 5-37-20, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS USED IN THE MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1973, SO AS TO REDEFINE "ASSESSMENT", "IMPROVEMENTS", "IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT", AND "IMPROVEMENT PLAN"; SECTION 5-37-40, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS, SO AS TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNING BODY OBTAIN WRITTEN CONSENT FROM A MAJORITY OF PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE PROPOSED DISTRICT BEFORE CREATING THE DISTRICT, DESCRIBE CERTAIN PROPERTY AS EXEMPT FROM AD VALOREM TAXATION AS PROVIDED BY LAW INSTEAD OF EXEMPT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE FOR PURPOSES OF DETERMINING THE NUMBER OF OWNERS OF REAL PROPERTY WHICH MUST SIGN A PETITION TO REQUIRE A MUNICIPAL GOVERNING BODY TO ESTABLISH A DISTRICT, AND AUTHORIZE A MUNICIPAL GOVERNING BODY TO CREATE AN IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BY ORDINANCE AFTER MAKING A FINDING OF CERTAIN CONSIDERATIONS; AND TO AMEND THE 1976 CODE BY ADDING SECTION 5-37-45 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE AN AREA TO BE INCLUDED IN AN IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT CREATED AFTER THE IMPROVEMENTS ARE BEGUN PURSUANT TO A PRECONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Definitions

SECTION 1. Items (1), (2), (3), and (4) of Section 5-37-20 of the 1976 Code are amended to read:

"(1) 'Assessment' means a charge against the real property of an owner within an improvement district created pursuant to this chapter which is based either on assessed value, front footage, area, the value of improvements to be

constructed within the district, or any combination of them, as the basis is determined by the governing body of the municipality.

(2) 'Improvements' include open or covered malls, parkways, parks and playgrounds, pedestrian facilities, parking facilities, parking garages and underground parking facilities, and facade redevelopment, the relocation, construction, widening, and paving of streets, roads, and bridges, including demolition of them, underground utilities, all activities authorized by Chapter 1 of Title 31 (State Housing Law), and all things incidental to the improvements, including planning, engineering, administration, managing, promotion, marketing, and acquisition of necessary easements and land, and may include facilities for lease or use by a private person, firm, or corporation.

(3) 'Improvement district' means any area within the municipality designated by the governing body pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and within which an improvement plan is to be accomplished. No special improvement district may include the grounds of the State House in the City of Columbia.

(4) 'Improvement plan' means an overall plan by which the governing body proposes to effect improvements within an improvement district to preserve property values, prevent deterioration of urban areas, and preserve the tax base of the municipality, and includes an overall plan by which the governing body proposes to effect improvements within an improvement district in order to encourage and promote private or public development within the improvement district."

Findings must be made

SECTION 2. Section 5-37-40 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 160 of 1987, is further amended to read:

"Section 5-37-40. (A) If the governing body finds that:

(1) improvements would be beneficial within a designated improvement district;

(2) the improvements would preserve or increase property values within the district;

(3) in the absence of the improvements, property values within the area would be likely to depreciate, or that the proposed improvements would be likely to encourage development in the improvement district;

(4) the general welfare and tax base of the city would be maintained or likely improved by creation of an improvement district in the city; and

(5) it would be fair and equitable to finance all or part of the cost of the improvements by an assessment upon the real property within the district, the governing body may establish the area as an improvement district and implement and finance, in whole or in part, an improvement plan in the district in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(B) If an improvement district is located in a redevelopment project area created under Title 31, Chapter 6, the improvement district being created under the provisions of this chapter must be considered to satisfy items (1) through (5) of subsection (A). The ordinance creating an improvement district may be adopted by a majority of council after a public hearing at which the plan is presented, including the proposed basis and amount of assessment, or upon written petition signed by a majority in number of the owners of real property within the district which is not exempt from ad valorem taxation as provided by law."

Inclusion of area

SECTION 3. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 5-37-45. The governing body may include within an improvement district an area within the municipality in which the proposed improvements have been constructed or are under construction at the time of the establishment of

the improvement district. Before the commencement of the construction of these improvements, a written agreement with the owner of the area to be improved is entered into by the municipality authorizing the construction of the improvements in anticipation of the inclusion of the area which is improved in the improvement district upon such terms and conditions as the governing body agrees, including the reimbursement, as a cost of constructing improvements under this chapter, of any monies expended for the construction before and subsequent to the establishment of the improvement district. Any agreement providing for the construction of the improvements before the establishment of the improvement district must be authorized by an ordinance of the governing body, notice of which must be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the municipality, appearing at least seven days before the final adoption of the ordinance. Any agreements entered into in accordance with the foregoing conditions before the effective date of this section are ratified and confirmed and the area improved declared eligible for inclusion in the improvement district as proposed in the agreement."

Time Effective

SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.