978                               LAWS OF MARYLAND                       [CH. 699

into four classes, namely: Agricultural, small acreage, industrial or
business, and subdivision property, and the [commission] Commis-
sion may subdivide each of said classes in such manner as it may
deem to be in the public interest. Whenever any water supply or
sewerage project in any sanitary district or sanitary districts shall
have been completed by March 31st, in any one year, regardless of
when said construction was commenced, then the said [commission]
Commission shall fix and levy a benefit charge as of the first day of
[January] July of the year in which the project was completed upon
said water main or sewer, in accordance with the classification or
subdivision thereof, and shall in writing, notify all owners of said
properties into which class and subdivision 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 vacant or unimproved property posted upon the premises.
The classification of and the benefit assessed against any property
as made by the [commission] Commission shall be final, subject
only to revision at said hearing. The [commission] Commission may
change the classification or 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 severage 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 being constructed
a water main or sewer at any point, said lot shall be assessed for
such frontage as the [commission] Commission may determine to
be reasonable and fair; and provided further that no lot in a sub-
division 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]
Commission may deem reasonable 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] Com-
mission shall be assessed a front-foot benefit 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
so made and for every connection such land shall become liable
to a front-foot assessment for such reasonable frontage not exceed-
ing three hundred (300) feet, as may be determined by said
[commission] Commission, and shall be immediately assessed at the
rate of assessment determined by said [commission] Commission for
agricultural land. Front-foot benefit charges for water supply and
sewerage construction shall be as nearly uniform as is reasonable
and practical for each class or subclass of property throughout each
sanitary district for any one year, provided, however, that when-
ever the [commission] Commission acquired an existing system
other than a municipal system, the cost of construction of which has
been added in whole or in part to the purchase price of land or
lots abutting upon said system and which contribution the [com-
mission] Commission has determined to be a factor in the cost to the
[commission] Commission of such system, the [commission] Com-
mission may, in its discretion, levy a front-foot assessment less than