68-728. Improvements of public roads in areas platted outside of cities; petition; authority of county commissioners; apportionment of costs; special assessments; bonds.
68-728
68-728. Improvements of public roads in areas platted outside of cities;petition; authority of county commissioners; apportionment of costs; specialassessments; bonds.Whenever any land shall be platted and laid off into lots and blocks withinany county, and outside the limits of any incorporated city, and wheneverthe owners of fifty-one percent (51%) or more of the front feet of the lotsabutting on or fronting on the street, road or avenue sought to be improved,or if fifty percent (50%) or more of the land abutting on or fronting onany such street, road or avenue be platted as above provided, then wheneverthe owners of sixty percent (60%) or more of the unplatted frontage on anysuch street, road or avenue, together with the owners of a sufficient percentageof the frontage of the platted land abutting on or fronting on any suchstreet, road or avenue to make fifty-one percent (51%) or more of the totalfrontage platted and unplatted on any such street, road or avenue soughtto be improved, petition the board of county commissioners to make the improvementsprovided for by this act, the board of county commissioners shall have thepower to provide for the construction or reconstruction of the curbing,guttering, paving, macadamizing or grading, including drainage, of any publicroad outside of the limits of any incorporated city whenever it shall deemthe same necessary. Whenever any such work is done or improvements made,the board of county commissioners shall have the power either:
(a) To apportion the full cost thereof including its pro rata share ofthe cost of street intersections equally per front foot on all land abuttingon or fronting on the street, road or avenue so improved, or apportion thecosts as hereinafter provided, and to levy special assessments for the fullcost or proportion thereof on all lots as platted and on any unplatted landabutting on or fronting on any such street, road or avenue, a distance backtherefrom not exceeding one hundred and fifty (150) feet for the distanceimproved or to be improved in the manner provided for the payment of thecost of paving and curbing; or
(b) to apportion and to levy special assessments for the full cost thereof,including its pro rata share of the cost of street intersections upon theproperty on each side of the street, road, or avenue so improved, to themiddle of the block or otherwise, all in the same manner and to the sameextent as is provided in K.S.A. 12-606 and 12-608, and amendments theretoor K.S.A. 12-6a08 to 12-6a11, inclusive, and amendments thereto; and undereither subparagraph (a) or (b) to issue improvement bonds therefor in likemanner as is provided by law for the paving and curbing of the streets,alleys and public places of cities of the first class (except that the bondsmay be issued to mature over a period of not exceeding twenty (20) yearsfrom the date of their issuance), and the entire distance to be improvedshall constitute the improvement district provided for herein. Where, undersubparagraph (b) such improvements have, prior to the effective date ofthis amendment, been initiated by proper petition and action taken thereonby the board of county commissioners, the method of apportionment and assessmentheretofore prescribed by this section shall be utilized except where theowners of all property subject to assessment consent in writing to the methodrequired by subparagraph (b) of this amendment.
None of the debt limitations prescribed by law for any such county shallapply to any bonds issued under the authority conferred by this section.Whenever the board of county commissioners shall determine that any partof a street, road or avenue, in addition to being of public utility, shallbe of general importance to the county, and the improvement of which wouldincur unusual expense, the said board may adopt a resolution to that effect,and may charge not to exceed sixty percent (60%) of the expense of the improvementto the county, the expense to the lands within the benefit districts tobe decreased in proportion.
After the adoption of such a resolution, the board may accept aid or donations,establish an improvement fund, issue bonds, levy taxes and pay costs outof the general fund and road fund in the same manner as authorized for likepurposes under the provisions of K.S.A. 68-707 to 68-709, inclusive, andwhenever improvements are made in accordance with the provisions of thisact in which part of the cost of the improvement shall be apportioned tothe county, the provisions of said K.S.A. 68-707 to 68-709, inclusive, shallapply, insofar as same can be made applicable.
Whenever any street, road or avenue is improved by the doing of any ofthe things provided for by this act, then thereafter the township withinwhich such improvements are done or built may maintain such improvementswithin such township. The provisions of this act shall not apply to anyroad on which less than fifty percent (50%) of the property abutting onit is platted into lots and blocks. If the board of county commissionershas adopted a resolution creating such benefit district, it shall completesuch work or improvements even though all or any part of the land thereinis annexed to a city.
History: L. 1927, ch. 258, § 1; L. 1929, ch. 228, § 1; L. 1953,ch. 304, § 1;L. 1959, ch. 266, § 1; L. 1961, ch. 306, § 1; L. 1969, ch. 306, §1; L. 1978, ch. 272, § 1; July 1.