Streets and Highways Code, 1935

A local agency’s legislative body may summarily vacate certain street or highway property in the two listed situations.

A street, highway, or public service easement cannot be summarily vacated if in-use public utility facilities in place would be affected.

The legislative body may vacate a street, highway, or public service easement by adopting a resolution of vacation, and may delegate that authority for public service easements to a qualified public officer or employee by recordation.

The clerk must record a certified copy of the vacation resolution with the county recorder, and no recordation fee may be charged.

Severance aid may not be allowed unless taxable real property in the water district falls by at least 2% in a fiscal year because of acquisitions that qualify for severance aid.

In a street-or-highway vacation proceeding, public entities and local agencies may reserve certain easements, and a public entity must reserve easements needed for in-use public utility facilities unless an exception applies.

When a street or highway vacation includes reserved easements or rights-of-way, the resolution must state them, and later deeds or conveyances must reflect that recital.

This section defines “public body” for this article as a city or a special district.

A public body or public utility may ask a local agency for notice of street or highway vacation proceedings, and local agencies must keep an index of those requests and make it available to the public on request.

If a public body or public utility asks for notice under Section 8346, the local agency must give written notice of the vacation proceeding within 10 days of the specified action.

The public body may decide it needs a public easement and record notice of it after a street or highway vacation proceeding, but it must do so within the stated time limits or lose the easement right.

This section says the article does not affect the right to reserve easements, and it does not make public rights in a street or highway subordinate to a public easement under this article.

Owners or operators of public highway bridges must notify the local city or county about the bridge and key bridge details by January 1, 1991, unless the bridge is owned or operated by specified government entities.

When a street, highway, or public service easement is vacated, all public easements in it are extinguished, except as Chapter 5 provides.

When a street, highway, or public service easement is vacated, title to property can change depending on whether the public entity held only an easement or held title.

Vacating a street, highway, or public service easement generally does not affect private easements or other rights, except as Section 8353 provides.

When a street or highway is vacated, private easements based on a lot purchase map reference are generally extinguished, except for ingress and egress easements and certain claims preserved by filing a verified notice within two years.

A public entity may sell or exchange certain unused former street, highway, or public service easement property if it is locally owned, and the state department must dispose of state-owned property under Section 118.

A local agency’s legislative body may, under stated conditions, convey its interest in a vacated street or highway to adjacent or fronting owners by deed.

When a local agency’s legislative body sells property under this article, the purchase price must be paid into the local agency’s treasury and credited to a fund the legislative body designates for the same purposes as the property’s former use.

A local agency may make a written agreement with another local agency so that a street or highway crossing the other agency’s incorporated territory can be closed or vacated only with both agencies’ consent.

This section ratifies and declares valid certain written agreements between local agencies that were made and approved before January 1, 1981, if they restrict the closing of streets or highways except as allowed by the agreement’s terms.

A local agency’s legislative body may close or vacate a street or highway only if it follows state law and the written agreement conditions described here.

Agreements between local agencies under this chapter must be recorded in each relevant county recorder’s office.

Before starting certain state highway or related water-crossing construction, the department must send the project plans to the Department of Boating and Waterways and consider any suggestions about small boat harbor integration.

During the design hearing process for certain state highway projects, the feasibility of public access to a navigable river for recreational use must be fully considered and reported on.

The commission may hire specialists for independent evaluations of routing proposals and may spend State Highway Account funds to carry out this section.

This division may be cited as the Improvement Bond Act of 1915.

This section says the part’s definitions and general provisions control how this division is interpreted, unless a particular provision or the context requires otherwise.

This section says Division 10 is an alternative system for issuing bonds secured by assessments for the covered improvements, and it does not affect other code provisions unless proceedings are started under this division.

This section defines “assessed” and “assessment” as certain assessments under Section 10204 or related law, as corrected and modified by the legislative body, and excludes assessments used to pay administrative costs.

For this section, “city” also means counties, cities and counties, public corporations, districts, and agencies.

This section defines “legislative body” differently for counties and cities.

This section defines “clerk” for county and city references.

“Treasurer” means the county treasurer for counties and the city treasurer for cities.

For county references, “street superintendent” or “superintendent of streets” means the county surveyor, or another competent county officer appointed by the county’s legislative body to do that job.

For county-related use, “engineer” means the county surveyor or another competent county officer appointed by the county’s legislative body to do the engineer’s duties.

This section defines “Auditor” differently for counties and cities.

This section defines “tax collector” differently for counties and cities.

This section says certain provisions about timing, place of official duty, and document form are directory only.

The legislative body may use investment income from a related fund or account to pay all or part of any amount that must be rebated to the United States so interest on the obligations stays excluded from federal gross income.

If this division requires a notice, resolution, order, or other matter to be published and does not specify how, it must be published in a qualifying newspaper in the city.

If a required notice, resolution, order, or other matter has no specified publication time, it must be published in two full newspaper issues.

If no newspaper is published in the city, notices that would otherwise have to be published may be posted in three public places instead.

The commission may declare by resolution that it intends to change the established grade of a state highway within a city, and the resolution must identify the new grade, where the maps can be examined, and where objections may be filed.

Notice of a proposed change of grade must be posted and published, with fallback rules if no newspaper is available.

If a posting rule in this division does not specify the time or method, the clerk must conspicuously post the item at the legislative body’s regular meeting place for at least five days.

Any person may file a written objection to the proposed change in grade within 60 days after posting is completed.

After a 60-day period, the commission may change and reestablish the official grade of the highway by resolution.

A city’s legislative body may decide to issue serial bonds, term bonds, or both, to fund qualifying public works or improvements, but may not use certain assessment-secured bonds to pay administrative costs.

If the legislative body decides to issue bonds for a proposed work or improvement, it must include three statements in the resolution of intention.

The legislative body may set a date in a bond so the bond is not subject to refunding until that date, but the date cannot be more than 10 years after issuance.

The legislative body may decide that bonds under this division can be refunded, and must set the refunding conditions in the resolution of intention.

The street superintendent must insert a similar description of the bonds in the relevant assessment documents.

The section provides sample wording for a bond declaration about serial bonds for unpaid assessments, including interest capped at a stated annual rate and a maturity date for the last installment.

The department may not change the highway’s physical grade in a way that affects property when an objection has been filed, unless the objection is finally found meritless or the required compensation/award has been deposited.

If a State highway’s changed grade no longer matches an intersecting highway, the department must do the needed work to make the highways meet at grade and restore the intersecting highway’s surface as nearly as possible.

The commission may delegate its ministerial or administrative powers, duties, responsibilities, or functions to the department.

The department may use this article to establish the boundaries of a State highway right of way when those boundaries are unknown or uncertain.

The street superintendent must file with the treasurer a complete list of all unpaid assessments after the required assessment-related conditions are met.

The treasurer must determine which assessments are unpaid and the total amount unpaid.

If the assessment was levied under certain laws, the treasurer or legislative body must set the bond denominations and arrange for issuance.

The bonds must be delivered to the contractor or sold, depending on which law the assessment was levied under.

Estimated incidental expenses must be included in the assessment.

If some bonds are blocked by a restraining order, injunction, or similar cause, bonds tied to unaffected assessments must not be delayed and may be issued first.

Bond sale proceeds must be paid into the proper assessment fund, and any amount above par must go into the fund named by the applicable law.

A right of way map must be filed under section 128 and must show the boundaries claimed by the State.

The department must publish a notice in a county newspaper after filing the map, and the notice must explain the boundary proceeding and where objections can be filed.

The department must post boundary signs within 15 days after notice is published, with spacing and minimum-number requirements, and the signs must show “Highway Line” and other required notice information.

This section sets the payment structure for improvement bonds, including installment principal payments, interest limits, semiannual interest dates, and who receives interest.

The legislative body may set how bonds mature and are redeemed, prescribe bond form, fix bond dates, split an issue into divisions, and classify assessments by maturity. If term bonds are included, it must provide for mandatory prior redemption through annual sinking fund installments without premium.

The final installment of the bonds must mature and be payable by a date no later than 39 years from the stated reference point.

Bonds may be redeemed before maturity on any interest payment date, with a 5% redemption premium unless the legislative body sets a lower premium before issuance.

This section gives the standard form for certain improvement bonds and sets out how they are paid, transferred, authenticated, and optionally redeemed early.

The bonds must be signed by the treasurer and the clerk of the legislative body, and the legislative body may authorize a stamped, printed, engraved, or lithographed signature, or the seal, to be used instead.

The bonds must bear interest at the rate set or determined in the proceedings, and bonds maturing in the same year are treated as that year's annual series.

When these bonds are issued, the issuance serves as conclusive evidence that the prior proceedings were regular.

The department must restore signs that were destroyed or became illegible in the third month after the first posting.

A legislative body may choose to issue variable interest rate bonds under this division.

The legislative body may decide to issue serial bonds, term bonds, or both, with a variable interest rate, and the bonds must be sold for at least 95% of principal.

If a legislative body decides to issue bonds under this part, it must state that fact in the resolution of intention, allow for a variable interest rate, and specify the maximum interest rate.

The bonds must be substantially in the form set out in Section 8652, except for revisions needed to conform to this part.

The legislative body may set up how unpaid assessments are collected, designate a collector or agent, and authorize extra assessments for collection, registration, and incidental financing costs within stated limits.

Interest on unpaid assessments runs from the bond date and is calculated for each interest period under the bond’s terms.

A bond may be redeemed before maturity on any interest payment date if the principal and accrued interest are paid, plus any redemption premium set by the legislative body, capped at 5% of principal.

The legislative body may use a resolution to make the bond interest rate variable over time.

The legislative body may set bond repurchase terms, secure payment or repurchase with a letter of credit or similar instrument, and hire remarketing and indexing agents.

A notice of assessment recorded with the county recorder must include a statement that unpaid assessments are subject to interest at a variable rate.

An owner of property abutting a proposed highway boundary must file a written objection within six months of the notice publication date if they dispute the boundary.

Bonds and interest must be paid at the treasurer’s office or another paying agent designated by the legislative body.

The treasurer or designated paying agent must maintain a redemption fund for the bonds and use it to pay bond principal, interest, and any redemption premium.

The treasurer or designated paying agent must keep a bond register, cancel and file paid bonds and coupons, and retain the records for five years after the bond issue’s last maturity.

If an owner does not file the objection within six months, the owner loses the right to object and the map boundary becomes the agreed and established boundary for that property.

Unpaid assessments are paid in annual installments, with interest and delinquency timing tied to city real-property taxes; the legislative body may add a 2% monthly delinquency penalty under subdivision (b).

Interest on unpaid assessments starts on the specified date and is calculated at the rate set in the bonds.

The auditor must keep records of assessment installments and enter them annually in the assessment roll. The auditor may add collection costs, but only up to 5% and no more than $8 per lot or parcel per installment unless the landowner gives written consent.

The auditor must annually add each parcel’s share of certain bond-registration expenses to the assessment roll, and the legislative body may choose to spread estimated total expenses across the bond term.

When a non-county legislative body is involved and county officials collect assessments, the county auditor must send the city a detailed report within 90 days after each installment becomes delinquent.

Taxpayers may pay assessments, interest, and any penalties under protest, but a written protest must accompany each payment.

If a parcel affected by an assessment is not separately listed on the tax roll, the auditor must add a description of the parcel, name the owner if known (or mark the owner as “unknown owners”), and enter the proper installment on the roll.

If the legislative body thinks there will not be enough money on hand to pay interest when due, it may order that the interest be collected a year earlier.

An interested owner may tender a bond to the treasurer to pay all or part of an assessment installment, interest, or penalties, and the treasurer must cancel the bond and record the credit.

In the Bass Lake Improvement District in Madera County, a person with less than a fee interest may pay an assessment, and the tax collector may accept it. If the tax collector accepts a partial-parcel payment, the collector must record identifying information and may add a fee for extra handling costs, which must be deposited into the general fund.

If an objection is filed, the department must not do work on the claimed property until a court finds the objection lacks merit or the required compensation or award is deposited.

The authorized proceedings may be used only to establish the boundary of a public easement for highway purposes.

If bonds are ordered issued, unpaid assessments, reassessments, and interest must remain a trust fund for paying the bonds and interest.

Assessments, reassessments, installments, interest, and penalties become a lien on the affected land until paid, but only for a limited period tied to the last bond series.

The lien is subordinate to earlier fixed special assessment liens on the same property, but it has priority over later fixed special assessment liens.

A reassessment lien and a refunding assessment lien have the same priority as the original assessment. A supplemental assessment is treated as a new assessment.

Unmatured installments, interest, and penalties secured by a lien are not treated as covered by any general warranty of title.

If an assessment is void or unenforceable, or related bonds cannot be validated through curative provisions, a reassessment may be made.

The legislative body may replace outstanding bonds with new bonds secured by the reassessment, and may issue those new bonds after the reassessment is confirmed.

If the legislative body calls in the original bond issue, it may direct the treasurer to advance bond maturity, and the treasurer must do so.

When outstanding bonds are surrendered, new bonds must be issued ratably to the original bondholders. The legislative body may also assign the bonds and set maturities equitably.

If a parcel with an unpaid assessment and bond is divided or part of it is transferred, the legislative body may order an amended assessment to be filed, and it must set the related costs and fees.

The street superintendent must file an amended assessment and map, apportion costs and fees to the divided parcels, notify the original owner before division, and deposit the costs and fees into the general fund.

When the street superintendent’s report and amended assessment are filed, the clerk must set a hearing time and place and publish notice.

Interested persons may appear and protest the amended assessment at the hearing or any continued hearing, and the legislative body must decide the objections and act by July 15.

This section requires officials to file and process an amended assessment, related map or plat, and assessment-roll entries, and it allows the county recorder to charge a filing fee.

This part provides an alternative procedure to Part 10 for division of land and bond matters.

When land with an unpaid bonded assessment is subdivided or partly transferred, the owner must file a written application with the street superintendent, describe the division or transfer, and pay a fee set by the legislative body.

When an application and fee are received, the street superintendent must apportion the unpaid assessment among the separate parts of the original lot or parcel.

After an assessment is apportioned, interested owners may file an application to have it recorded, and the street superintendent must notify the bond underwriter or original purchaser by certified or registered mail.

If the application is properly signed and no hearing is requested, the street superintendent must update the recorded diagram and assessment and give separate assessment numbers to each part of the original parcel.

The street superintendent must file the amended assessment with the auditor, and in a city proceeding with county-collection, must send a copy to the county auditor. The auditor must then enter the installment amounts on the assessment roll each year.

The legislative body may, by resolution, borrow money and issue negotiable bond anticipation notes before authorized bonds are sold and delivered, and renew those notes.

Principal and interest on bond anticipation notes may be paid from available money, and any amount due and payable must be paid from the proceeds of the next bond sale tied to those notes.

Proceeds from bond anticipation notes may be used for any purpose that the related bonds could be used for.

Bond anticipation notes may not be issued for more than the authorized bond amount, after subtracting bonds already sold and earlier notes still outstanding.

A legislative body may authorize bond anticipation notes to be called and redeemed early, but the resolution must set the notice method and redemption prices, and the redemption premium cannot exceed 6% of par value.

Bond anticipation notes may be issued and sold the same way as bonds.

Bond anticipation notes and their authorizing resolution may include any provisions, conditions, or limitations that a bond-issuing bond resolution may include.

The legislative body must include a remedy in the note resolution if the bonds cannot be sold as planned or if the notes default.

The chapter’s procedure is not the only allowed procedure, and the department may use another lawful procedure.

The treasurer may advance a bond’s maturity to March 2 or September 2 of any year, and may pay and cancel the bond when the redemption fund has sufficient surplus moneys.

Notice of advanced maturity must be given in writing to the registered holder or owner of the bond, using registered or certified mail or personal service.

If a treasurer receives an interest coupon after advanced maturity notice has been given and the bond was not surrendered, the treasurer must mail a copy of the notice to the coupon payment address, and must also return the coupon if the interest has already stopped accruing.

This section says how an improvement bond matures early, how the owner can surrender it before advanced maturity, and how the treasurer must handle and pay the funds.

The cost of serving or publishing the notice of advanced maturity must be paid from the redemption fund.

A single notice of advanced maturity may cover more than one bond.

The treasurer may cancel an advanced-maturity notice for a bond if the required conditions are met.

The treasurer must use the procedure in Section 8768 when selecting bonds for retirement.

This section says Chapter 6 does not waive public rights already acquired for highway purposes or waive any statute of limitations.

This section says the procedures here are an alternative to Part 8 and Part 11, but those parts still apply unless otherwise provided.

An owner of assessed land may prepay the assessment and remove the lien, unless the land has been ordered to judicial foreclosure under Section 8830.