WM. PRESTON LANE, JR., GOVERNOR. 689

Mayor and Common Council of Riverdale to construct semi-
permanent roads as herein defined and to borrow money upon
the credit of the town to meet the cost of such construction
if in the judgment of the Mayor and Common Council such
type of improvement would be in the public interest and of
special benefit to the abutting property, whenever written
petition therefor is made by the owners of more than fifty per
cent of the property abutting on the length of the road to be
improved, accompanied by an advance deposit of forty per-
cent of the estimated total cost of the construction; to pro-
vide for the assessment of the entire cost of the improvement
against the abutting property; to fix the method of making
such assessment, the interest thereon, and the credit to be
allowed for the contribution to the advance deposit; to
permit the payment of the unpaid balance of any such
assessment in cash or in such number of equal semi-annual
installments, not exceeding three, as may be determined by
the Mayor and Common Council of Riverdale to be in the
public interest; to declare such assessments a lien upon
the abutting property; to provide a penalty for non-payment
of any assessment or installment thereof, and for their
collection as other taxes due the Town of Riverdale; and to
permit repeated petitions and recurring assessments for
semi-permanent road improvements against the same abut-
ting property until such time as permanent street improve-
ments shall be made along such abutting property in the
manner provided by law for the making of such permanent
street improvements in the Town of Riverdale, and to pro-
vide for a referendum thereon.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Mary-
land, That the 1943 Edition of the Code of Public Local Laws
of Prince George's County, being Article 17 of the Code of
Public Local Laws of Maryland, compiled and edited by
Horace E. Flack, be amended by adding thereto a new Section
1199(a) relating to the Town of Riverdale to read as follows:

1199(a). The Mayor and Common Council of Riverdale
shall have authority to construct semi-permanent roadways
within the Town upon the following conditions:

(a) That there shall be filed with the Mayor and Common
Council a petition in writing specifying the type of semi-
permanent road improvement desired, signed by owners of
more than fifty percent of the property abutting along the
length of the road proposed to be constructed, accompanied by
an advance deposit of forty percent of the total cost of the
construction as estimated by the Town Engineer. The peti-
tion shall also certify the amount of the advance payment