1184                           LAWS OF MARYLAND                      [CH. 552

title "Health," subtitle "Sanitary Districts," to change the condi-
tions under which sanitary commissions may reduce CHANGE the
amount of front foot charges against property owners for con-
struction of water or sewerage facilities.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 657 (c) of Article 43 of the Annotated Code of Mary-
land (1966 Supplement), title "Health," subtitle "Sanitary Districts,"
be and it is hereby repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, to
read as follows:

657.

(c) The classification of and the benefit assessed against any
property as made by the commission shall be final, subject only to
revision at said hearing. The commission may change the classifi-
cation 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 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 ir-
regular 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 may determine to be reasonable and fair; and pro-
vided further that no lot in a subdivision 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 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 shall be assessed a front-foot benefit when said agricul-
tural 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 reasonable frontage
not exceeding three hundred (300) feet, as may be determined by
said commission, and shall be immediately assessed at the rate of
assessment determined by said commission for agricultural land.
Front-foot benefit charges for water supply and sewerage construc-
tion 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 whenever the commission
acquires 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 commission has determined to be a factor in the
cost to the commission of such system, the commission may, in its
discretion, levy a front-foot assessment less than the uniform front-
foot assessment levied in the remainder of the sanitary district in
which said system is located. The amount of the charge per front
foot for each class of property for both water mains and sewers
may be [reduced from time to time by the commission in its dis-
cretion, if costs and conditions are deemed by it to justify such re-
duction] changed from time to time as the Commission, in its dis-