Alabama § 11-71-3 - Creation of Neighborhood Infrastructure Authority.

§ 11-71-3. Creation of Neighborhood Infrastructure Authority.

(a) A municipality of this state may authorize the creation of a Local Neighborhood Infrastructure Authority to manage, coordinate, and collect voluntary assessments from homeowners and business owners to participate in revitalization projects in their respective neighborhoods. If at least 80 percent of the property tax assessable homeowners and/or business owners sign a petition to allow the formation of an authority, the petition shall be reviewed by the municipality.

(b) One or more owners of land wishing to form an authority in a municipality may petition the municipality to form an authority as follows:

(1) The owners shall prepare a written petition executed by 80 percent of the owners of property of all land proposed to be included within the authority.

(2) The petition shall include a description of the tract or tracts of land proposed to be included within the authority, which may include less than all of any individual tract of land. The description shall be sufficient if it refers to tax assessment tracts in accordance with the tax assessor’s numbering or other reference system, by metes and bounds, by subdivision lot, by reference to recorded deeds, or by other reasonable reference methods.

(3) The petition shall include a map or plat of the proposed area in the authority, showing that, if the authority is created, the land will be contiguous within the municipal limits at the time the petition is presented.

(4) The petition shall designate no less than three nor more than five individual property owners to initially act as agents in representing the owners before the municipality.

(c) Any land proposed to be included within an authority formed may not be within the municipal limits of any municipality other than the municipality to which the petition is being made and all land must be within the corporate limits of the municipality.

(d) A petition shall contain a proposed form of articles of incorporation for the proposed authority, which shall include the following information:

(1) The name of the authority and a statement that the authority is organized pursuant to this chapter.

(2) The names and mailing addresses of the incorporators.

(3) The name of the municipality that is petitioned for the formation of an authority.

(4) The names and addresses of the members of the authority proposed to be the board of directors of the authority and their terms of office. The members of the board of directors shall be appointed by the municipality, if the petition is approved by the municipality. The members of the board may include any of the property owners who act initially as agents representing the proposed authority or any other member of the authority.

(e) A petition shall contain a proposed name for the authority substantially in the form of ________ Infrastructure Authority District, which name shall be sufficient to distinguish the authority’s district from other neighborhoods or areas of the municipality.

(f) Upon receipt of a petition, the municipality shall confirm that the persons executing the petition are owners in the area proposed to be included within the authority’s district.

(g) If the municipality considers the formation of an authority expedient, it may, by resolution, approve the formation of the authority, and appoint the persons named in the petition as the board of directors of the district.

(h) If an authority is formed in a municipality, only the individuals and business owners in the boundaries of the authority may be voluntarily assessed on a fair and equitable basis by the authority for an improvement project or projects.