MAINTENANCE DISTRICTS
Sections
20.470.010 Purpose.
20.470.020 General provisions.
20.470.030 Procedure for petitions.
20.470.040 Notice and action by the board.
20.470.050 Findings for approval for petitions.
20.470.060 Ordinance creating a maintenance district.
20.470.070 Assessments and creation of liens.
20.470.080 Recorded notice of a maintenance district.
20.470.090 Construction of improvements.
20.470.100 Expansion of a maintenance district.
20.470.110 Dissolution of a maintenance district.
20.470.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to allow an applicant, who is creating a
residential subdivision, to petition the county, instead of creating a common-interest
community association, to assume the maintenance of perimeter landscaping, public
lighting, security walls, or trails, parks, and open spaces which provide a
substantial public benefit or which are required by the county for the primary
use of the public. This chapter is enacted pursuant to NRS 278.278 to NRS 278.4787
and uses the definitions in those sections. (Ord. 1066, 2004)
20.470.020 General provisions.
The request to create a maintenance district must be in the form of a petition,
which must be signed by the majority of the owners whose property will be assessed,
and must contain a description of the tracts of land or residential units that
would be subject to assessment. If the county determines that it desires to
assume the maintenance of the proposed improvements it must adopt an ordinance
to create the maintenance district. The ownership of the maintenance district
property will be by the county or by ownership in common shared by the applicant
and all future owners of property within the development or subdivision. The
county may provide the maintenance or contract to provide the maintenance. The
county may also by agreement under NRS 277 agree to have another public agency
perform the maintenance. (Ord. 1066, 2004)
20.470.030 Procedure for petitions.
A. For a person who proposes to divide land as a subdivision, the complete
petition for a maintenance district must be submitted to the community development
department on a form provided by the department at least 120 days before the
approval of the final map for the land. A public hearing must be held by the
board on the petition at least 90 days before the approval of the final map.
B. The petition is complete when it contains or is accompanied by the following:
1. Legal descriptions of all tracts of real property that would be
subject to the maintenance assessment.
2. The legal description of the maintenance district real property
and the proposed ownership of the real property.
3. For landscaping, public lighting, and security walls, a detailed
plan with improvements and construction details acceptable to the county.
4. For trails, parks, and open space, a detailed plan with improvements
and construction details acceptable to the county and a determination of the
relative proportions of the benefit to the development or subdivision and the
benefit to the public.
5. An agreement signed by the owners of the subject property agreeing
to the terms of the petition including:
a. A grant to the county giving the county, its officers, agents,
employees and contractors the right to enter and access the maintenance district
property to maintain the improvements on the maintenance district property.
b. A written agreement providing a warranty for all improvements,
live plants, and irrigation equipment for one year and indemnification of the
county for damage or loss resulting from the applicant’s or applicant’s agents
improper installation or defective design of the improvements during the warrant
period.
c. A deposit in the amount of the first six months of assessments
and the start up costs of the district. The deposit may be refunded after the
assessment amounts have been collected by the county.
6. Pay an application fee, any required deposits or recording fees
and any inspection fees set by resolution of the board.
C. For a person, who has a subdivision approved by the county before the
effective date of this ordinance with a condition of approval to create a beneficial
assessment district, the complete petition for a maintenance district must be
submitted to the community development department on a form provided by the
department. A public hearing must be held by the board within 60 days of submitting
a complete application and before the approval of the final map.
D. For a subdivision with a recorded final map, the request of a majority
of owners, who propose to dissolve or have dissolved their common interest community,
a petition must be submitted to the community development department on a form
provided by the department. A public hearing must be held by the board on the
petition within 60 days of submitting a complete application. (Ord. 1066,
2004)
20.470.040 Notice and action by the board.
The board must hold a public hearing on the petition for the creation of
a maintenance district. This hearing may be held on the same date as the application
for tentative map approval, but must be posted as a separate item on the agenda,
and separately noticed. In addition to the notice otherwise required by section
20.20.020, notice of the hearing on the petition must be mailed to the owners
of the affected parcels, at least ten days before the hearing. (Ord. 1066,
2004)
20.470.050 Findings for approval of petitions.
To approve the petition for the maintenance district, the board must find
that:
A. The improvements are designed and are or will be constructed to the
standards of the county and are or will be in acceptable condition for the county
to maintain;
B. The county has the ability to perform the maintenance for the district
and cumulatively, for other districts, and that the maintenance does not cause
an unreasonable administrative or financial burden on the county;
C. There is funding, if needed, for the public benefit portion of the proposed
improvements;
D. A majority of owners agree to the assessment;
E. The proposed improvements are compatible with the character of the area
of the county and the proposed costs of the assessment are commensurate with
the cots of the houses in the subdivision; and
F. Any other factors the board finds relevant to the application. (Ord.
1066, 2004)
20.470.060 Ordinance creating a maintenance
district.
After approval of the petition, the board must approve an ordinance that:
A. Creates or expands a maintenance district consisting of the tracts of
land or lots set out in the petition on completion of the improvements. A maintenance
district may be created at the time of the final map approval but the assessments
will not begin until the county accepts the improvements for maintenance and
the dedication of any real property. The county may require both the commencement
and the completion of the improvements within a time period specified in the
ordinance creating the district.
B. Establishes the method of determining the amount of an assessment for
each assessment unit to pay the costs that will be incurred by the county in
assuming the maintenance of the proposed improvements and sets the amount of
the assessment for each unit, including the administrative costs to the county
associated with the district. The assessment amount will be subject to an annual
adjustment based on actual costs or expansion of the district.
C. Determines if there is a benefit to the public in addition to the benefit
to the development or subdivision, the relative proportion attributable to both,
and the source of the appropriate amount of public money for the county’s share.
D. Sets the time and manner of the payment of the assessment.
E. Provides that the assessment constitutes a lien on the tracts of land
or residential units within the maintenance district.
F. Sets the level of maintenance to be provided.
G. Addresses any other matter that the county determines to be relevant
to the maintenance of the improvements, including but not limited to the ownership
of the improvements and the land on which the improvements are located and any
exposure to liability associated with the maintenance of the improvements.
(Ord. 1066, 2004)
20.470.070 Assessments and creation of a lien.
Assessment amounts will be payable according to the payment schedule adopted
in the ordinance creating the district. The county will mail the property owner
of the assessment unit a bill for the assessment amount. The county will assess
a 10% penalty for each assessment not paid within 30 days from the due date.
Interest will accrue on delinquent payments with unpaid principal, penalties,
and accrued interest compounded semiannually. Once the assessment amount is
levied and is due, it becomes a lien on the assessment unit. The lien will
have the same priority as a lien for real property taxes. (Ord. 1066, 2004)
20.470.080 Recorded notice of a maintenance
district.
The county must record a copy of the ordinance creating the maintenance
district against all the properties included in the district. The notice must
be in a form to encumber the property and run with the property. The costs
of recording the notice must be paid for by the petitioner. (Ord. 1066, 2004)
20.470.090 Construction of improvements.
The improvements for the maintenance district must be installed or constructed
by the applicant in accordance with the county approved improvement plans submitted
with the petition, or secured in the manner provided in section 20.720.030,
before the maintenance district is created or expanded. Once the improvements
are completed, the applicant must notify the county to inspect the improvements
for compliance with the plans and county code. (Ord. 1066, 2004)
20.470.100 Expansion of a maintenance district.
A maintenance district may be expanded to include the maintenance of improvements
of a new subdivision or a subsequent phase of a subdivision development by filing
a petition at least 120 days before the filing of the final map for that phase.
The petition to expand a district must contain the information required by section20.470.030.
The expansion of a district to include a subsequent phase may be approved if
the same conditions required for the creation of the original district are satisfactorily
fulfilled. (Ord. 1066, 2004)
20.470.110 Dissolution of a maintenance district.
A maintenance district may be dissolved by the county when:
A. A majority of the property owners of the assessments request the county
dissolve the maintenance district and an association for a common-interest community
has been formed to maintain the improvements; or
B. The county determines that it is no longer desirable for the county
to maintain the improvements or the improvements are no longer necessary.
C. The improvements are not constructed within the time period set out
in the ordinance creating the district. (Ord. 1066, 2004)
