Atlanta › Code of Ordinances — Part II (General Ordinances)

Chapter 134 — Special Assessments

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§ 134-1

Assessment and collection.

Sec. 134-1. Assessment and collection.

All matters related to the assessment and collection of all special assessments and liens related thereto as provided by law and assessed against any property within the city shall be done on behalf of the city by the revenue collection administrator duly designated by the chief financial officer, all in conformity with and as provided by the laws of this state relating to the assessment and collection of taxes due the city and the enforcement of liens relating thereto; provided, however, all sales related to such special assessments, collections and liens shall be conducted on the steps of the city hall at the time and in the manner otherwise specified by law. (Code 1977, § 7-4053)

Secs. 134-2—134-25. Reserved.

ARTICLE II. STREET IMPROVEMENTS

§ 134-26

Petitions.

Sec. 134-26. Petitions.

(a)Generally. If the owners of the majority of the frontage of the land liable to assessment for street improvements shall petition the council for improvements, citing this section and designating by general description the improvement to be undertaken and the street or part thereof to be improved, and if after a public hearing as provided by the Charter and this Code or other ordinances of the city such improvements are approved, it shall thereafter be the duty of the council to proceed to cause such improvement to be made in accordance with the prayers of the petition and the best judgment of the council. All petitions for street improvements must be signed in ink by the owners of the property signed for or by their duly authorized agents. The petition shall state that property owners may be assessed for the cost of the improvement.

(b)Execution when city owns property. When the city owns property along the street whereon an improvement is desired, the mayor may sign the petition in the name of the city for the full frontage of the property owned by the city along the street.

(c)Right to withdraw signature. Any person shall have the right to withdraw such person's signature from a petition for the pavement or other improvement of a street or portion thereof, but the withdrawal must be in the handwriting of the withdrawing petitioner and shall state that it is the petitioner's own act, uninfluenced by persuasion.

(d)Effect of withdrawal of signature. Any person who has signed a petition for the pavement of a street or portion thereof or other improvement and withdraws such person's signature therefrom prior to adoption of an ordinance authorizing the pavement of the street or portion thereof will not thereafter be permitted to resign the same petition for pavement of that street or portion thereof. The person withdrawing the signature may sign any other paving petition, but the city will not approve the other petition unless the owners of the majority of frontage on the street, including the party who had withdrawn such party's signature from a previous petition, sign the petition.

(e)Misrepresentation to induce withdrawal of signers. Any person who appeals personally to signers of such petitions for the pavement of a street or a portion thereof or other street improvement to withdraw their names and in making such appeals misrepresents the facts, either as to the cost of the respective pavements or any other facts connected therewith, shall be deemed guilty of an offense and on conviction thereof shall be punished as provided by law. (Code 1977, § 9-3054)

§ 134-27

Authority of council for improvements not petitioned for.

Sec. 134-27. Authority of council for improvements not petitioned for.

(a)The council may cause improvements to be made, including paving or surfacing, sanitary sewers, sidewalks, curbs, curbs and gutters and driveways, to any one or more streets, alleys or public ways, including those designated, accepted or otherwise created, anywhere within the corporate limits of the city and assess the full cost of these improvements upon the real property abutting on each side of the street, alley or public way so improved. The improvements can be caused to be made by the council solely within its discretion and in the absence of a petition from abutting property owners for the improvements.

(b)The chief financial officer is authorized to permit deferred or installment payments of assessments and liens by the persons owning and living on property abutting those streets where improvements are made when financial circumstances of all or certain of those persons invite relief. Determination of eligibility for the deferred or installment payments shall be in accordance with standards and guidelines set forth in this section and subject to amendment by the council.

(c)The chief financial officer is authorized, upon council authorization for the work, to accept application and payment from property owners assessed for those improvements and to permit deferred or installment payments by an owner or occupier of property abutting the street, public alley or public way. (Code 1977, § 9-3055(a)—(c))

§ 134-28

Completion of work; entering information in lien book.

Sec. 134-28. Completion of work; entering information in lien book.

The commissioner of transportation shall immediately notify the chief financial officer of the completion of any street improvements which constitute a lien against abutting property, and this information shall be immediately entered in the lien book which shall be kept by the chief financial officer. A copy of the lien book shall be maintained in the appropriate county property records room. The date of entry of this completed work shall be deemed the date when the lien attaches to the abutting property. (Code 1977, § 9-3056(b); Ord. No. 2020-34(20-O1382), § 6, 6-23-20)

Secs. 134-29—134-50. Reserved.

ARTICLE III. SIDEWALKS OR CURBING

§ 134-51

Council action; cash payment for work.

Sec. 134-51. Council action; cash payment for work.

Council action shall be required for the construction of sidewalks or curbing in and along streets and portions of streets and the resolution or ordinance shall be sufficient authority for the construction of sidewalks or curbing, except the commissioner of transportation is authorized to construct sidewalks or curbing after receiving cash payment in advance for the construction work. (Code 1977, § 9-3081; Ord. No. 2020-34(20-O1382), § 7, 6-23-20)

§ 134-52

Assessment against and collection of costs from abutting owners.

Sec. 134-52. Assessment against and collection of costs from abutting owners.

The entire expense of construction of sidewalks and curbing shall be assessed against the property abutting on the streets where sidewalks are constructed and shall be collected from the owners thereof. (Code 1977, § 9-3083)

§ 134-53

Method of assessment.

Sec. 134-53. Method of assessment.

(a)All assessments for construction of sidewalks and curbing shall be made on a property frontage basis by dividing the total cost of the construction by the total frontage abutting the construction to ascertain the cost per front foot and assessing each lot or parcel of abutting property according to its frontage on construction.

(b)When private alleys between adjoining lots intersect with sidewalks, the assessment for curbing and sidewalks at the point where the alley intersects with the sidewalk shall be divided between the lots on each side of the alley, treating the private alley as belonging equally to the two adjoining lots. Private alleys belonging to only one of the adjoining lots shall be treated as part of that lot in making the assessment for curbing and sidewalk. (Code 1977, §§ 9-3084, 9-3085)

§ 134-54

Collection of assessments.

Sec. 134-54. Collection of assessments.

(a)Billing. When curbing and sidewalks are laid under resolution or ordinance, an assessment schedule shall be made by the commissioner of transportation, showing in detail the properties against which the assessments are made. When the assessment schedule is passed SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS by the council, it shall then be transmitted to the chief financial officer, who shall make out bills against the persons liable and notify them of the assessments.

(b)Grants to qualified property owners. Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the mayor or the mayor's designee is authorized to make grants to city residents owning property abutting on the streets where sidewalks are constructed when the income and other circumstances of such persons falls within established guidelines certified to by the committee on city utilities of the council for the purpose of paying for the costs of the improvements. (Code 1977, § 9-3082(a), (c); Ord. No. 2020-34(20O-1382), § 8, 6-23-20)

ARTICLE IV. PROPERTY ASSESSED CLEAN ENERGY ASSESSMENTS

§ 134-55

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program.

Sec. 134-55. Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program.

(a)The city adopted a Climate Action Plan, which provides a comprehensive plan for climate change mitigation through reducing the city's carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2020 and 40 percent by 2030, along with pledging to reduce energy and water use in commercial and residential buildings 20 percent by 2020 and 40 percent by 2030, using a 2009 baseline. To help reduce energy and water use in commercial and residential buildings within the city, the city has established the Clean Energy Atlanta PACE Program ("PACE program") to facilitate funding to commercial and residential property owners who desire to install energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy improvements within the city.

(b)The PACE Program will provide for the imposition of non-ad valorem property assessments to be levied upon participating properties as may be agreed to by the property owner, the downtown development authority for the city and its program administrator.

(c)Each property owner choosing to participate in the PACE Program shall execute a PACE Assessment Contract with the downtown develop-ment authority, which shall be administratively acknowledged by a designated representative of the city's finance department and governed by the PACE program guidelines. (Ord. No. 2017-46(16-O-1430), § 12, 6-12-17)

§ 134-56

PACE assessment roll.

Sec. 134-56. PACE assessment roll.

The city's office of sustainability and resilience and department of finance shall periodically file with the municipal clerk a report of the PACE assessment contracts which have been entered into with property owners, which report shall include the following, and such other information as required by the council including:

(1)The tax-parcel ID number(s) corresponding to the property on which eligible PACE improvements are to be installed;

(2)The principal component of each assessment contract entered into in the preceding 12 months;

(3)The term of the related assessment contracts; and

(4)A general description of the eligible PACE improvements financed during the preceding 12-month period.

(Ord. No. 2017-46(16-O-1430), § 12, 6-12-17; Ord. No. 2017-45(17-O-1424), § 5, 7-26-17; Ord. No. 2022-46(22-O-1872), § 9, 12-13-22)

§ 134-57

Levy of PACE assessment.

Sec. 134-57. Levy of PACE assessment.

PACE Assessments shall be levied in the amount, and for the term specified in the PACE assessment roll by parcel as directed by the city's chief financial officer and as specified in individual assessment contracts. PACE assessments shall be billed and be payable in the same manner and on the same day as assessments for solid waste charges. (Ord. No. 2017-46(16-O-1430), § 12, 6-12-17)

§ 134-58

Lien for PACE assessment and interest.

Sec. 134-58. Lien for PACE assessment and interest.

PACE assessments and each installment thereof, along with interest thereon and the expense of collection, are declared to be a lien against the parcel so assessed, from the date the amount of such assessment or any installment thereof shall become due and unpaid, co-equal and on a parity basis with other municipal taxes. A penalty for the payment of delinquent PACE assessments shall be assessed in the same manner as delinquent municipal taxes. (Ord. No. 2017-46(16-O-1430), § 12, 6-12-17)

§ 134-59

Execution, levy and enforcement.

Sec. 134-59. Execution, levy and enforcement.

The city's chief financial officer shall cooperate with the applicable tax commissioner or such other entity designated to collect the assessments and shall direct and cause to be issued an execution against any property for the amount of the assessment, interest and any applicable penalty, in the same manner as the enforcement of a lien for municipal taxes. (Ord. No. 2017-46(16-O-1430), § 12, 6-12-17)

§ 134-60

Transmittal of PACE assessment Information.

Sec. 134-60. Transmittal of PACE assessment Information.

The city shall annually adopt a resolution authorizing the transmittal of information, including in electron format, to the applicable tax commissioner for the billing and collection of the PACE assessments. (Ord. No. 2017-46(16-O-1430), § 12, 6-12-17)

Chapters 135—137 RESERVED Chapter 138 STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND OTHER PUBLIC PLACES* Sec. 138-1. Sec. 138-2. Sec. 138-3.

Sec. 138-4. Sec. 138-5. Sec. 138-6. Sec. 138-7.

Sec. 138-8. Sec. 138-9. Sec. 138-10. Sec. 138-11.

Sec. 138-12. Sec. 138-13. Sec. 138-14. Sec. 138-15. Sec. 138-16. Sec. 138-17. Sec. 138-18. Sec. 138-19.

Article I. In General Definitions. Interest of city. Authority to regulate assigned to commissioner of transportation. Enforcement, penalties, violations. Alleys. Standard specifications adopted. Approval of design, construction, repair, maintenance or modification of subdivisions. Street name changes; dedication of certain public places. Vacating and abandoning streets. Dangerous or hazardous conditions near the right-of-way. Digging up, carrying away gravel, earth and other material from street or sidewalk. Depositing, dumping or storing material in street or sidewalk. Affixing signs within right-of-way. Maintenance of sidewalk area. Obstructing sidewalks by display or sale of goods Compliance with noise ordinance. Design objectives for sidewalks. Utility markings. Reserved.

Article II. Encroachments Sec. 138-20.

Sec. 138-21. Sec. 138-22. Sec. 138-23. Sec. 138-24. Sec. 138-25.

Sec. 138-26.

Division 1. In General Minimum requirements for changes, excavations or encroachments in right-of-way for any purpose other than its intended use as a public street or highway. [Establishment of administrative rules.] Nonconforming encroachments. Obligation to relocate upon notice. Conditions of permit. Erection of bridges, tunnels or similar structures across streets or alleys. Erection of balconies over sidewalks.

Division 2. Utilities Sec. 138-27. Franchise utilities. Secs. 138-28—138-39. Reserved.

*Charter reference—General powers relative to streets and other public ways, § 1-102(c)(11), (c)(13)—(c)(15), (c)(20). Cross references—Naming of public facilities and streets in honor of persons, § 2-2; vending machines on city property and in city facilities, § 2-3; abandonment of streets, § 2-1578; abandonment of easements, § 2-1579; restrictions on advertising structures near freeways or expressway systems, § 6-27; sidewalk photographers, § 30-1316 et seq.; special assessments, ch. 134; traffic, ch. 150. Land development code reference—Transportation impact fee, § 9-1001 et seq. State law references—Constitutional grant of home rule powers, Ga. Const. art. IX, § II; specific grant of constitutional authority relative to streets, Ga. Const. art. IX, § II, ¶ III(a)(4); statutory grant of home rule powers, O.C.G.A. § 36-35-1 et seq.; municipal street systems generally, O.C.G.A. § 32-4-90.2 et seq.

Supp. No. 85 Division 3. Poles, Conduits, Wires and Other Facilities Sec. 138-40. Sec. 138-41. Sec. 138-42.

Poles. Conduits. Location of certain electrical wires.

Sec. 138-43.

Division 4. Bus Shelters Bus shelters.

Division 5. Vending Devices and Telephones Sec. 138-44. Definitions. Sec. 138-45. Enforcement, violations and penalties. Sec. 138-46. Permit. Sec. 138-47. Hold-harmless agreement. Sec. 138-48. Projection onto public streets. Sec. 138-49. Dangerous condition or obstruction. Sec. 138-50. Identification. Sec. 138-51. Standards for installation and maintenance of publication vend-ing devices in designated areas. Sec. 138-52. Maintenance; advertising prohibited. Sec. 138-53. Abandonment. Secs. 138-54—138-59. Reserved.

Sec. 138-60.

Division 6. Flags, Banners, Signs, Displays Flags, banners, signs, displays.

Division 7. Dumpsters Sec. 138-61. Dumpsters in the right-of-way. Sec. 138-62. Bike sharing infrastructure. Secs. 138-63, 138-64. Reserved.

Article III. Construction or Excavation in the Right-of-Way Sec. 138-65. Sec. 138-66. Sec. 138-67. Sec. 138-68. Sec. 138-69. Sec. 138-70. Sec. 138-71. Sec. 138-72. Sec. 138-73. Sec. 138-74. Sec. 138-75.

Permits for construction or excavation. Neighborhood identification signs. Pedestrian access. Scheduling and coordination of excavation. Rehabilitation and restoration of the pavement. Work done by public utilities. Availability of material and equipment before starting work. Building adjoining viaduct, bridge or tunnel. Protection for gas lines. Emergency excavations. Fees charged for permits which allow blocking or closing sidewalks or streets; etc.

Article IV. Improvements Within the Right-of-Way Division 1. Generally Sec. 138-76. Cost and fees of street paving and the improvement of unimproved right-of-way by city assessed against abutting property owners.

Sec. 138-77. Engineering and inspection fees for improvements by owner or developer.

Secs. 138-78—138-80. Reserved.

Supp. No. 103 Division 2. Streets Sec. 138-81. Notice to contractor and public utilities of paving. Sec. 138-82. Closing of streets during paving operations. Sec. 138-83. Closing of streets during construction of bridges, viaducts and similar structures. Sec. 138-84. Traffic calming devices—Installation. Sec. 138-85. Traffic calming devices—Removal. Secs. 138-86—138-95. Reserved.

Division 3. Sidewalks, Curbs, Curbs and Gutters and Driveways Sec. 138-96. Schedule of charges for construction or repair. Sec. 138-97. Construction of sidewalks, driveways and curbs in multifamily residential, commercial and industrial zoning districts. Sec. 138-98. Constructing sidewalks, driveways and curbs by private contrac-tors. Sec. 138-99. Permit required for construction of driveways or sidewalks on streets. Sec. 138-100. Notice to abutting property owners prior to construction of sidewalks. Sec. 138-101. Additional standards for replacement or reconstruction of sidewalks in certain districts and areas. Sec. 138-102. Additional standards for limited local residential streets in new subdivisions. Sec. 138-102.1 Negotiated traditional neighborhood development (NTND). Sec. 138-103. Inspection and repair of sidewalks. Secs. 138-104—138-125. Reserved.

Article V. Telecommunications Franchises and Revocable Licenses Division 1. Definitions Sec. 138-126. Definitions.

Division 2. Granting Authority and Franchising Procedure Sec. 138-127. Granting authority. Sec. 138-128. Compliance with rules; licenses required. Sec. 138-129. Submission of application for franchise or revocable license. Sec. 138-130. Compliance with all legal requirements. Sec. 138-131. Factors for review of application. Sec. 138-132. Procedure for consideration of and action on applications. Sec. 138-133. Agreement required. Sec. 138-134. Terms and conditions of franchise. Sec. 138-135. Terms and conditions of revocable license. Sec. 138-136. Renewal applications. Sec. 138-137. Renewal determinations. Sec. 138-138. Obligation to cure as a condition of renewal. Sec. 138-139. Surety, security fund, and bonding requirements. Sec. 138-140. Franchise fee for state or local issued cable or video franchise. Sec. 138-140.1. Authorized designee. Secs. 138-141—138-160. Reserved.

Division 3. General Provisions Sec. 138-161. Severability. Sec. 138-162. Coordination and interpretation. Sec. 138-163. Amendments to article.

Division 4. Small Wireless Facilities Sec. 138-164. Purpose and compliance. Sec. 138-165. Definitions. Sec. 138-166. Permit required. Sec. 138-167. Removal; relocation; reconditioning; replacement; abandon-ment. Sec. 138-168. Standards. Secs. 138-169—138-185. Reserved.

Article VI. City Hall Sec. 138-186. Applicability of previous articles. Sec. 138-187. City Hall defined. Sec. 138-188. Department of purview. Sec. 138-189. Rules of conduct for City Hall. Sec. 138-190. Exceptions to rules of conduct. Sec. 138-191. Rental of City Hall Atrium and Old Council Chambers. Sec. 138-192. Additional rules for meeting rooms and press conference loca-tions. Sec. 138-193. Rules of conduct for City Hall suites and offices. Sec. 138-194. City Hall access during evenings, weekends and holidays. Secs. 138-195—138-230. Reserved.

Article VII. Right-of-Way Dining Sec. 138-231. Sec. 138-232. Sec. 138-233. Sec. 138-234. Sec. 138-235. Sec. 138-236. Sec. 138-237. Sec. 138-238. Sec. 138-239. Sec. 138-240. Sec. 138-241.

Purpose. Definitions. Permit required. Permit requirements. Operational rules. Clearance requirements. Signage. Insurance and indemnification. Enforcement. Right-of-way dining areas as public property. Administrative regulations.

Article VIII. On-Street Right-of-Way Dining Sec. 138-242. Right-of-way dining areas on federal-aid highways and on real property acquired with federal assistance made available from the highway trust fund.

Secs. 138-243—138-255. Reserved.

ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL*