Part 1. General Provisions of California Streets And Highways Code >> Division 7. >> Part 1.

This division may be cited as the Improvement Act of 1911.

Unless the particular provision or the context otherwise requires, the definitions and general provisions contained in this part shall govern the construction of this division.

This division provides an alternative system for doing the work authorized by this division and the provisions of this division shall not apply to or affect any other provisions of this code. When any proceedings are commenced under this division, the provisions of this division and no other shall apply to such proceedings.

This division shall be liberally construed in order to effectuate its purposes. No error, irregularity, informality, and no neglect or omission of any officer, in any procedure taken under this division, which does not directly affect the jurisdiction of the legislative body to order the work or improvement, shall avoid or invalidate such proceeding or any assessment for the cost of work done thereunder. The exclusive remedy of any person affected or aggrieved thereby shall be by appeal to the legislative body in accordance with the provisions of this division.

Whenever in any proceedings under this division, a time and place for any hearing by the legislative body is fixed and, from any cause, the hearing is not then and there held or regularly adjourned to a time and place fixed, the power of the legislative body in the premises shall not thereby be divested or lost, but the legislative body may proceed anew to fix a time and place for the hearing, and cause notice thereof to be given by publication by at least one insertion in a daily, semiweekly or weekly newspaper, such publication to be at least five days before the date of the hearing, and thereupon the legislative body shall have power to act as in the first instance.

"City" includes counties, cities, cities and counties and all corporations organized and existing for municipal purposes, together with resort districts organized and existing under the Resort Improvement District Law (Division 11 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Public Resources Code), and any special district organized for the purpose of aiding in the development or improvement of navigation or commerce to, or within, the district.

"Legislative body" when used with reference to a county means the board of supervisors, and when used with reference to a city means the body which by law constitutes the legislative department of the government of the city.

"Clerk" when used with reference to a county means the person or officer who is the clerk of the legislative body of the county, and when used with reference to a city means the person or officer who is or acts as clerk of the legislative body of the city.

"Treasurer" when used with reference to a county means the county treasurer, and when used with reference to a city means the city treasurer. "Treasurer" also includes any person or officer who has charge and makes payment of the funds of such county or city, respectively.

"Mayor" when used with reference to a county means the chairman of the board of supervisors, and when used with reference to a city means the mayor, or if the city has no mayor, the chairman or the president of the legislative body, the city manager or such other person as may be the chief executive officer of the city.

"Council chambers" refers to the place where the regular meetings of the legislative body of the county or city are held.

"Street superintendent" or "superintendent of streets" when used with reference to a county means the county surveyor, and when used with reference to a city means the person or officer whose duty it is under the law to have the care or charge of the streets or the improvement thereof in such city.

If there is no street superintendent or superintendent of streets in any city, the legislative body thereof may appoint a person to perform the duties imposed upon the street superintendent by this division, and all of the provisions of this division applicable to the street superintendent shall apply to the person so appointed.

In a city in which there is a superintendent of streets or street superintendent, the legislative body of the city may nevertheless appoint another person to perform the duties imposed upon the street superintendent by this division and all of the provisions of this division applicable to the street superintendent shall apply to the person so appointed.

"Engineer" when applied to a county means the county surveyor, and when applied to a city means the city engineer.

"Street" includes avenues, highways, lanes, alleys, crossings, or intersections and courts which have been dedicated and accepted according to law or which have been in common and undisputed use by the public for a period of not less than five years next preceding, or which have been dedicated to a semipublic use by way of a dedication made for the exclusive use and benefit of all properties located within the boundaries of a community services district formed under the provisions of the Community Services District Law (commencing with Section 61000 of the Government Code), or which are privately owned, opened to public traffic, and located within the boundaries of an assessment district established to provide street lighting.

"Place" includes any public park or pleasure ground and common which has been dedicated and accepted according to law.

"Paved" or "repaved" includes pavement of stone, paving blocks or macadamizing, or of bituminous rock or asphalt, or of iron, wood or other material, whether patented or not, which is adopted by ordinance or resolution by the legislative body.

"Contractor" means the person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, organization or business trust, and includes contracting owners or their agents, to whom a contract for the performance of any work authorized by this division is awarded.

"Owner" means the person owning the fee, or the person in whose name the legal title to the property appears, by deed duly recorded in the county recorder's office of the county in which the property is situated, or the person in possession of the property or buildings under claim of, or exercising acts of ownership over the same for himself, or as the executor, administrator, guardian, or conservator of the owner. If the property is leased, the possession of the tenant or lessee holding and occupying such property shall be deemed to be the possession of the owner.

"Lot," "land," "piece," or "parcel of land" whether used singly or in combination include property owned or controlled by any person as a railroad right of way or as a street or interurban railroad right of way.

"Lot," "portion of lot," "land," "piece," or "parcel of land," whether used singly or in combination, may, in the discretion of the superintendent of streets, for purposes of spreading assessments and calculating benefits include any contiguous real property under the same ownership as it appears on the last equalized assessment roll used by the assessing entity in which the property is situated, whether consisting of unsubdivided land or land subdivided into blocks or lots and blocks or the superintendent of streets may if requested by such owner make separate assessments against portions of such lots or parcels of land.

"Work" or "improvement" whether used singly or in combination mean and include any work which is authorized to be done or any improvement which is authorized to be made under this division, as well as the construction, reconstruction and repair of all or part of any such work or improvement.

"Acquisition," or any of its variants, means one or more of the following:
  (a) Any works, improvements, appliances, or facilities which are authorized to be made, constructed, or acquired under this division and which are in existence and installed in place on or before the date of adoption of the resolution of intention for the acquisition thereof; any use or capacity rights in any of the above; and any works, improvements, appliances, or facilities acquired or installed pursuant to Sections 10109 to 10111, inclusive.
  (b) Electric current, gas, or other illuminating agent for power or lighting service.
  (c) Any real property, rights-of-way, easements, or interests in real property, acquired or to be acquired by gift, purchase, or eminent domain, necessary or convenient in connection with the construction or operation of any work or improvement authorized to be acquired or to be made or constructed under this division, except any real property, rights-of-way, easements, or interests in real property shown on any final map filed with or submitted to the legislative body for acceptance and approval under the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410) of Title 7 of the Government Code) and offered for dedication to public use by the map or by any separate offer of dedication previously or subsequently made.
  (d) The payment in full of all amounts necessary to eliminate any special assessment liens previously imposed upon any assessment parcel included in the new assessment district. The cost of the payment shall be included in the new assessment on the parcel. This subdivision is applicable only in cases where the acquisition is incidental to other acquisitions or improvements.

"Incidental expense" includes all of the following:
  (a) Compensation for work done by the engineer, and attorney's fees or services in proceedings pursuant to this division. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a court of competent jurisdiction renders a final judgment that invalidates in whole or part the formation of the assessment district or the levy of assessments, any attorney's fees and engineering charges incurred by the city in defending that litigation are not incidental expenses and shall not be charged against the assessment district in any manner except as to those claims upon which the city prevails and as allowed by a court of competent jurisdiction.
  (b) The cost of printing and advertising provided for in this division, including the treasurer's estimated cost of printing, servicing, and collecting any bonds to be issued to represent or be secured by unpaid assessments.
  (c) The compensation of the person appointed by the superintendent of streets to take charge of, and superintend any of, the work.
  (d) The expenses of making the assessment, of the collection of assessments by the superintendent of streets when directed by ordinance to receive payments pursuant to Section 5396, and of preparing and typing the resolutions, notices, and other papers and proceedings for any work authorized by this division.
  (e) The expenses of making any analyses and tests to determine that the work, and any materials or appliances incorporated therein, comply with the specifications.
  (f) All costs and expenses incurred in carrying out the investigations and making the reports required by the provisions of the Special Assessment Investigation, Limitation and Majority Protest Act of 1931 (Division 4 (commencing with Section 2800)).
  (g) The cost of title searching, description writing, right-of-way agent salaries, appraisal fees, partial reconveyance fees, surveys, and sketches incident to securing rights-of-way for any work authorized by this division.
  (h) Any other expenses incidental to the construction, completion, and inspection of the work in the manner provided for in this division.
  (i) The cost of relocating or altering any public utility facilities as required by the improvement in those cases where that cost is the legal obligation of the city.
  (j) The cost of planning and designing public facilities to be financed pursuant to this division, including the cost of environmental evaluations of those facilities.
  (k) The cost of filing and recording documents when the cost is the legal obligation of the city.
  (l) The cost of any acquisition, as defined in Section 5023.1, and expenses incidental in connection with the acquisition.
  (m) If the construction of sewers or appurtenances incident thereto has been ordered, sewer service, connection, and capacity charges established by the city as a condition to the providing of sewer service for the benefit of properties within the assessment district and required for the completion and utilization of the improvement constructed.
  (n) If the construction of water improvements or appurtenances incident thereto has been ordered, water service, connection, and capacity charges established by the city as a condition to the providing of water service for the benefit of properties within the assessment district and required for the completion and utilization of the improvement constructed.
  (o) All costs not identified in subdivisions (a) to (n), inclusive, related to the issuance of bonds, including, but not limited to, costs of obtaining credit ratings, bond insurance premiums, fees for letters of credit and other credit enhancement costs, and initial fees for the registration of bonds. All demands for incidental expenses shall be presented to the street superintendent, by an itemized bill, duly verified by the demandant.

In all resolutions, notices, orders and determinations, subsequent to the resolution of intention it shall not be necessary to describe the work, and any description of the work in any of the same, subsequent to the resolution of intention and the notice of improvement, shall be sufficient, if it refers to the resolution of intention for a description of the work or improvement.

The legislative body of a county, city or city and county, may by resolution adopt a name for any street, boulevard, park or place which is to be improved under this division, for which a name has not been provided under the provisions of Sections 970.5 and 971, or otherwise, and may by resolution change the name of any street, boulevard, park or place heretofore established; provided further, that a copy of the resolution or order providing for the new name or change of name made by any city shall be promptly forwarded by the city clerk to the clerk of the board of supervisors and county surveyor of the county in which the municipality is situated.