Theodore R. McKeldin, Governor                   1355

said, and to fix an annual assessment on all properties, improved or
unimproved, binding upon a street, road, lane, alley or right-of-way
in which a water main, sewer or drain has been built. The said an-
nual assessment shall be made upon the front foot basis, and the
first payment shall be collected during the year in which the con-
struction is completed on the water supply, sewerage or drainage
systems, or in which the systems are purchased or acquired. The
said Commission for the purpose of assessing benefits shall divide
all properties binding upon a street, road, lane, alley or right-of-way,
in which a water pipe or sanitary sewer is to be laid, into four clas-
ses, namely: Agricultural, small acreage, industrial or business, and
sub-division property, and the Commission may sub-divide each of
said classes in such manner as it may deem to be in the public inter-
est. Whenever any water supply or sewerage project in said sanitary
district or sanitary districts shall have been completed by March
31st, in any one year, regardless of when said construction was com~
menced, then the said Commission shall fix and levy a benefit charge
as of the first day of January in which the project was completed
upon all property in said sanitary district abutting upon said water
main or sewer, in accordance with the classification or sub-division
thereof, and shall in writing, notify all owners of said properties
into which class and sub-division their respective properties fall and
the charge determined upon, naming also in said notice a time and
place, when and at which time said owner will be heard. Such notice
may be mailed to the last known address of the owner, or served
in person upon any adult occupying the premises or in case of a va-
cant or unimproved property posted upon the premises. The classi-
fication of and the benefit assessed against any property as made by
the Commission shall be final, subject only to revision at said hear-
ing. The Commission may change the classification of property from
time to time as said properties change in the uses to which they are
put. Said benefits shall be levied for both water supply and sewerage
construction and shall be based for each class of property upon the
number of front feet abutting upon the street, lane, road, alley or
right-of-way in which the water pipe or sewer is placed; provided,
however, that in the case of any irregular shaped lot abutting upon
a road, street, lane, alley or right-of-way in which there is or is be-
ing constructed a water main or sewer at any point, said lot shall be
assessed for such frontage as the Commission may determine to be
reasonable and fair; and provided further that no lot in a sub-divi-
sion property shall be assessed on more than one side, unless said
lot abuts upon two parallel streets, that corner lots may be averaged
and assessed upon such frontage as the Commission may deem rea-
sonable and fair, and that all lots in this class shall be assessed even
though a water main or sewer may not extend along the full length
of any boundary; and provided further, that no land so classified as
agricultural by this Commission shall be assessed a front foot bene-
fit when said agricultural land has constructed through it or in front
of it a sewer or water main, until such time as the water or sewer
connection is made, and when so made and for every connection such
land shall become liable to a front foot assessment for such reason-
able frontage not exceeding three hundred (300) feet, or as may be
determined by said Commission, and shall be immediately assessed
at the rate of assessment determined by said Commission for agri-
cultural land. Front foot benefit charges for water supply and sewer-
age construction shall be as nearly uniform as is reasonably practi-
cal for each class or sub-class of property throughout each district