[Adopted 4-12-1976]
In accordance with the provisions of a Mansfield
ordinance providing for sewer assessments and connection charges,
the Mansfield Water Pollution Control Authority hereby adopts the
following rules and methods as a basis for apportionment of the costs
of a sanitary sewer system; which costs are to be shared in a fair
and equitable manner among the persons whose properties are benefited
by such sewerage system.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The frontage of odd-shaped lots to an average frontage that
would be the equivalent to the frontage of a rectangularly shaped
lot of the same area and depth as determined by the Town Engineer.
A parcel of land or part thereof, the minimum area and width
of which qualifies or would qualify for the issuance of a building
permit for a single-family residence under existing zoning regulation.
"Building lot" as defined may or may not be a lot of record. A "building
lot" may be a part of a larger parcel of land.
The floor area of buildings used other than as residences
and calculated on the basis of outside measurements. Such buildings
shall include but not be limited to all commercial, industrial and
business buildings and all other buildings used for other nonresidential
uses.
The cost of any sewer system which is to be
shared among the persons whose properties are benefited by such sewer
system shall be determined as follows:
A.
Front-foot assessment. The adjusted front footage
of properties abutting streets in which sewer lines have been laid
shall be computed, and 1/2 of the cost of the local sewers shall be
divided by the total number of assessable front feet of properties
so benefited.
B.
Unit assessment. One-half of the cost of local sewers
shall be divided by the total number of units on the properties benefited,
to determine a unit assessment. The unit for the purposes of assessment
shall be determined as follows:
(1)
Property in residential zones improved for residential
use shall be assigned one unit for each residential unit thereon.
The depth of the property to be assessed shall be limited by the rear
lot line; provided, however, that such depth shall not exceed the
greater of the depth normally required in the particular zone in which
the property lies or a line parallel to the street and 50 feet to
the rear of any building in which a residential unit is located.
(2)
Unimproved property in residential zones abutting
streets in which a sewer line has been laid shall be assigned one
unit for each existing building lot and one unit for each area of
the minimum lot size permitted by the zoning regulations for the zone
in which the property is located, depth to be calculated in the same
manner as property improved for residential use.
(3)
Multifamily residential developments in any zone shall
be assigned one unit for each residential unit.
(4)
Business, commercial and industrial uses in any zone,
including nonconforming uses, shall be assigned units pursuant to
whichever of the following three methods result in the most units:
(a)
One unit for each 1,500 feet of gross floor
area of the buildings figured to the nearest 1/4 unit.
(b)
A number of units based upon the lot area, which
number is to be figured to the nearest 1/4 unit and is to be determined
by dividing 20% of the total lot area, in square feet, by 1,500 square
feet. In making such determination, lot depth is to be 200 feet from
the line of the street in which the sewer has been laid or the rear
property line, whichever is less.
(5)
Uses such as schools, churches, clubs, museums and
home occupations are to be treated as commercial uses for the purposes
herein.
(6)
Where a dwelling in a residential zone is so situated
on property of an owner so that there is insufficient area owned by
the same owner on either side of the lot upon which the dwelling is
located to constitute an additional lot for the zone in which the
property is located and such area does not constitute a nonconforming
lot, such property shall be considered benefited only to the extent
of one unit, even though there would be two lots if there were no
dwelling or if the dwelling were situated in a different position.
(7)
For any business, commercial and industrial use, whether
nonconforming or not, and for any other nonresidential use in any
zone and where buildings are located behind the two-hundred-foot line,
the area to which units are assigned shall have as its rear line a
line parallel to the street and coterminous with the rearmost portion
of the rearmost building thereon, which building has been found to
be benefited by the Water Pollution Control Authority.
C.
Outlet charges:
(1)
Unit basis: In the following cases, an outlet charge
shall be determined on the basis of $400 per unit:
(a)
Property improved for residential use in a residential
zone shall be assigned one unit for each residential unit thereon.
Improved property shall be deemed to include approved subdivisions,
and a unit shall be charged for each approved lot.
(b)
Unimproved property abutting a street in a residential
zone shall be assigned one unit for each existing building lot and
one unit for each lot of the minimum size permitted by the zoning
regulations or the zone in which the property is located.
(c)
Multifamily residential developments in any
zone shall be assigned one unit for each residential unit.
(2)
Acreage basis: Outlet charges shall be determined
on the basis of $1,400 per acre in the following cases:
(a)
In business, commercial and industrial zones,
the area property developed for business, commercial and industrial
use or capable of being developed for such use, whether or not a nonconforming
use presently exists, shall be used as the basis for determining the
outlet charge.
(b)
In residential zones, the area of property developed
for an existing nonconforming business, commercial or industrial uses
shall be the basis for determining the outlet charge.
(c)
For said acreage assessments, the area to be
assessed shall extend to the rear lot line; provided, however, that
such area shall not exceed the greater of a depth of 200 feet from
the street or a line parallel to said street and adjacent to the rearmost
portion of the rearmost building located within such assessment area
as determined by the Water Pollution Control Authority.
(3)
The outlet charge may be deferred against land reserved
or used for public highways or land permanently restricted for use
as a public recreation or public open space or land on which a public
conservation easement or similar public restriction preventing its
use for industrial, business or other nonresidential purpose exists.
A.
Wherever an assessment has been deferred and a connection
to the sewer system sought in accordance with the provisions of an
ordinance providing for sewer assessments and charges, the connection
charge shall consist of the unit assessment, front-foot assessment
and outlet charge which would have been levied had the property been
immediately benefited at the time the sewer was built.
B.
Wherever an assessment has been levied against a property
and an increased intensity of use is later sought for said property,
a connection charge shall be levied to the persons whose property
is additionally benefited, and such charge shall consist of the unit
assessment and, if applicable, the outlet charge which would have
been levied had the more intense use existed at the time the property
was originally assessed, less any assessment or connection or outlet
charge previously levied.
C.
Wherever a connection to the sanitary sewer system
can be made to a trunk sewer from a property abutting the trunk sewer,
making unnecessary the construction for a local sewer, the connection
charge shall consist of the outlet charge applicable at the time the
connection is sought, if such charge is not paid under the terms of
a developer's permit-agreement, and, if the owner cannot show proof
that he or she has paid a normal and equitable share of the installation
cost, an additional charge determined by the Water Pollution Control
Authority to be a normal and equitable share of the installation cost
in each case.
D.
If in the opinion of the Water Pollution Control Authority
the size, shape, location or use of the property subject to the assessment
of benefits and/or connection charge under the provisions hereof do
not reflect the extent of the benefit, a factor or percentage or any
other reasonable adjustment thereof may be used for determining the
benefits which the Water Pollution Control Authority believes measures
the extent to which said property is especially benefited.
