1196                             LAWS OF MARYLAND                        CH. 609

four classes, namely: agricultural, small acreage, industrial or busi-
ness, and residential, and the Commission may subdivide each of
these classes in such manner as it deems to be in the public interest.
Whenever any water supply or sewerage project in the sanitary
district has been completed and declared ready for service the Com-
mission shall fix and levy an assessment for the remainder of the
fiscal year on a pro rota basis upon all property in the district
abutting upon the water main or sewer, in accordance with the classi-
fication or subdivision thereof; and it 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 the notice a time and place, when and at which time the
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.

(c)  The classification of and the benefit assessment made against
any property by the Commission is final, subject only to revision at
the hearing. The Commission may change the classification of prop-
erties from time to time as the properties change in the uses to which
they are put. The benefit assessment shall be levied for water supply,
sewerage and drainage 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,
sewer or drainage system at any point, the lot shall be assessed for
such frontage as the Commission may determine to be reasonable
and fair; and provided further that no residential property may be
assessed on more than one side unless it 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 the residential and industrial or business classification 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
classified as agricultural by the Commission shall be assessed a front
foot benefit when it has constructed through it or in front of it a
sewer or water main until such time as the water or sewer connec-
tion is made, and when so made and for every connection such land
is liable to a front foot assessment for such reasonable frontage not
exceeding three hundred (300) feet, or as may be determined by
the Commission, and shall be immediately assessed at the rate of
assessment determined by the Commission for agricultural land.
Any land, owned by a religious body upon which there is erected a
church or a parsonage and which is used exclusively for customary
religious purposes, in the discretion of the Commission, may be
exempted from front foot benefit assessment for that frontage not
exceeding 150 feet.

(d)  Front foot benefit assessments for water supply and sewerage
and drainage construction shall be as nearly uniform as is practica-
ble for each class or subclass of property throughout each system
for any one year, and no benefit charge, once levied, may be in-
creased; provided, however, that whenever the Commission acquires
an existing system other than a municipal system, the construction
of which has been added in whole or in part to the purchase price