Carson City Supervisors OK assessment to implement South Carson Street improvement district
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Thu, 03/04/2021 - 3:40pm
The Carson City Board of Supervisors voted Thursday to accept an assessment methodology to implement the South Carson Street Neighborhood Improvement District, with the inclusion of a license fee to help offset costs.
According to the meeting’s agenda, the purpose of establishing the South Carson Street Neighborhood Improvement District (NID) is to assess the property owners within the area for the cost of ongoing cleaning and maintenance of the sidewalk, pathways and landscape improvements as part of the South Carson Complete Streets Project to provide for consistent maintenance of the improvements.
The proposed NID includes properties directly fronting or accessing South Carson Street between Fifth Street and the I-580/South Carson Street Interchange and properties located between S. Carson Street and Curry Street.
During the meeting, city staff presented the recommended assessment methodology, NID maintenance standards and the process for implementing the South Carson Street NID.
In 2014, the Board enacted a one-eighth percent sales tax to help fund improvements to the City’s primary commercial corridors, including the South Carson Street project.
The approved Plan of Expenditure for the sales tax included a provision that an assessment district would be formed as part of each corridor project to contribute funding annually to the City to provide for routine maintenance required for the corridors such as cleaning sidewalks, maintaining landscaping, servicing trash receptacles, etc.
A Downtown NID was formed for the maintenance of the Downtown Carson and Curry Streetscape Project improvements constructed in 2016 and 2018.
Originally, the Board had discussed the South Carson Street NID in March 2020, but determined to delay it until 2021, with possible implementation of the NID in Fiscal Year 2022.
The NID will pay for maintenance of landscaping, sidewalk, and multi-use path improvements and amenities within the sidewalk areas only. The City will continue to maintain the street improvements from curb to curb.
The property owners within the NID are assessed for maintenance of the improvements along the property frontages of the private and State properties only.
The City will continue to pay the full cost of maintenance for the improvements fronting their respective properties, as well as any costs associated with the maintenance of landscaping and sidewalks along the corridor.
The assessment to property owners in the first year will be a total of $119,620, based upon the recommended maintenance standards and most recent maintenance cost estimate.
The maintenance of the sidewalk and amenities will include snow removal of the multi-use path, in addition to sidewalk power washing, trash removal, landscape maintenance, general cleaning, and crack repair and pavement surface treatment of the multi-use path.
In addition to the NID, the Board also voted to approve a draft license agreement template and license fee methodology that would provide for a per-square-foot charge to be utilized for granting licenses for use of the City’s right-of-way for purposes other than landscaping, sidewalks, ingress and egress.
According to the agenda, pursuant to Highway Agreement No. R386-04-002 with NDOT, Carson City agreed to take ownership of right-of-way along South Carson Street extending from the northerly right-of-way line of IR-580 to the southerly right-of-way line of Fairview Drive.
Through the transfer of ownership, Carson City owns some portions of the South Carson Street right-of-way in fee simple and owns others as easements. Much of the right-of-way is located outside of the active roadway prism and is utilized by adjacent commercial property owners for, among other things, parking or landscape areas.
In August 20, 2020, Board of Supervisors directed staff to license the use of surplus right-of-way by the adjoining property owners.
Since the meeting, staff has created a draft license agreement template for the Board of Supervisors' consideration along with a proposed license fee methodology that may be applied to similar encroachments citywide.
Encroachment permits have been granted to the affected property owners pending the Board of Supervisors' direction on licensing agreements.
