Progress! Thanks Andrew! So we can be assessed! :-( So....
Watch out for the NID! It may land on your head. S. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Frishkoff, Andrew Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 1:25 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [UC] Laws about special service district funding in PA/ Party for the Park One additional clarification. Melanie is correct that back in the early 1990s homeowners and landlords could not be assessed a special service district fee. However, under State Act 130 (signed by Governor Ridge in December, 2000) Pennsylvania expanded the types of special services districts (aka Neighborhood Improvement Districts) allowed by state law to include residential and mixed-use NIDS. Therefore, any geographically contiguous set of property owners can petition City Council to create a NID. The key principle under state law is that of "rational nexus," which is defined by Act 130 as: "The legal principle which requires that there is a rational, definable benefit which accrues to any property owner assessed a fee for said benefit in a neighborhood improvement district created under this act. All property owners within a designated neighborhood improvement district paying a special assessment fee must benefit directly or indirectly from facilities or services provided by a neighborhood improvement district management association within the neighborhood improvement district, provided, however, that property owners need not benefit equally." Therefore, you could not assess a fee to area homeowners if you were providing services that would benefit only businesses. Here is the link to the legislation: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/1999/0/HB1142P3337.HTM Andrew Frishkoff [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 05/06/2004 11:13 AM Please respond to MLamond To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] cc: Subject: Re: [UC] Laws about special service district funding in PA/ Party for the Park In a message dated 5/6/04 10:37:20 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << The same thing happened here in U-City. U-City residents had a meetings regarding funding the Service District. Residents and business owners said no to "assessments" or more taxes as they put it. The only reason UCD works here is because it is by donation only and not mandatory payments. We are VERY fortunate to have institutional support for UCD.>> Actually, Sharrieff, by law, homeowners and landlords of residential buildings CANNOT be taxed extra in PA for special service districts. The PA "enabling legislation" for the districts ONLY ALLOWS COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES TO BE TAXED EXTRA. We learned this back in 1992-93 when we first had a short-lived voluntary UC Special Services District. (I was on the board.) Since there were too few businesses and since the commercial area was too spread out and small to have any impact on our "clean and safe" efforts, all UCSSD funding was from donations - mostly from homeowners since it was community-organized. For that effort, there was not sufficient voluntary support from institutions and large landlords, so the UCSSD had to shut down after about half a year in operation. But that was the inspiration, the spark, for the later-organized UCD, which began with major funding donations from the big UC institutions, especially Penn, and had the support of the community organizations through their umbrella group, the UC Community Council. Melani Lamond ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
