County pays for improvements on public or exempt land

Whenever any public land, or any land by law exempted from assessments of the character provided for in this article, is within any improvement district, the council shall, without assessing such public or exempted land for any part of the cost of such improvements, by general ordinance appropriate and pay toward such improvements out of general revenues the portion of the costs thereof which would otherwise be assessable against the public or exempted land, either in a lump sum, or, at the election of the council, in such equal installments with such interest thereon as the council shall determine. In the event, however, any part or parts of such exempt lands, except public lands, may be required for right-of-way, easement, or other purposes for the improvements within such improvement district, the value thereof shall be chargeable to the improvement district, and upon acquisition the owner shall be compensated therefor in the following manner: A. Where the value of the part taken together with any severance damages exceeds the portion of the cost of the improvements which would otherwise be assessable against the exempt land, the county shall pay the difference to the owner or owners; B. Where such value is less than the portion of the cost of the improvements which would otherwise be assessable against the exempt land, the value of the land shall be deducted from said portion of the cost and the county shall pay the balance thereof in the manner provided in this section. (Ord. 801 § 1 (part), 1974: prior code § 25-1.5)