CHAPTER 517

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 21-116 and 21-118.4 of the Code of
Virginia, relating to enlargement of sanitary districts and to powers
and duties of governing bodies of counties with respect to sanitary
districts.

[H 550]

Approved March 31, 1964

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 21-116, and 21-118.4 of the Code of Virginia be amended and
reenacted as follows:

§ 21-116. The circuit court, or the judge of such court in vacation,
upon the petition of the governing body of the county and of twenty-five
per centum of the qualified voters, if any, residing within the limits of the
territory proposed to be added, may make an order extending the boun-
daries and enlarging any sanitary district created under the provisions
of this article, which order shall prescribe the metes and bounds of the
territory so added.

Upon the filing of the petition a hearing shall be had as provided in
§§ 21-114 and 21-115, and the notice of such hearing may require all in-
terested persons to appear and show cause why any special tax levied or
to be levied in the sanitary district for special sanitary district purposes
may not be likewise levied and collected in the territory proposed to be
added to such district, and to appear and show cause why the net operat-
ing revenue derived in the added territory from the operation of any sys-
tem or systems established under the provisions of § 21-118 may not be
set apart to pay the interest on and retire at maturity the principal of any
bonds theretofore issued in connection with such system or systems.
Nothing in such order enlarging a sanitary district as provided herein shall
be construed to limit or adversely affect the rights and interests of any
holder of bonds issued by the district, and such order shall expressly pre-
serve and protect such rights and interests.

§ 21-118.4. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, when an
order has been entered creating a sanitary district in such county, the
board of supervisors or other governing body, hereinafter referred to as
“board of supervisors,” shall have the following powers and duties, in ad-
dition to such powers and duties created by any law, subject to the condi-
tions and limitations hereinafter prescribed.

(a) To construct, reconstruct, maintain, alter, improve, add to and
operate motor vehicle parking lots, water supply, drainage, sewerage, gar-
bage disposal, heat, light, power, gas, sidewalk, curbs, gutters, streets and
street name signs and fire fighting systems, for the use and benefit of the
public in such sanitary district and as to such motor vehicle parking lots
systems to make such charges for the use of such facilities as may be pre-
scribed by said board or body.

(a-1) To acquire, maintain and operate, within such sanitary district,
such community buildings and other recreational facilities as the board
may deem expedient or advisable, and to make such charges for the use
of such facilities as may be prescribed by the board.

(b) To acquire by gift, condemnation, purchase, lease or otherwise,
and to maintain and operate any such motor vehicle parking lots, water
supply, drainage, sewerage, garbage disposal, heat, light and power and
gas, sidewalk, curbs, gutters, streets and street name signs and fire fight-
ing systems in such district.

(c) To contract with any person, firm, corporation, municipality,
county, authority or the federal government or any agency thereof to ac-
quire, construct, reconstruct, maintain, alter, improve, add to and operate
any such motor vehicle parking lots, water supply, drainage, sewerage,
garbage removal and disposal, heat, light, power, gas, sidewalk, curbs,
gutters, streets and street name signs and fire fighting systems in such
district, and to accept the funds of, or to reimburse from any available
source, such person, firm, corporation, municipality, county, authority or
the federal government or any agency thereof for either the whole or any
part of the costs, expenses and charges incident to the acquisition, construc-
tion, reconstruction, maintenance, alteration, improvement, addition to
and operation of any such system or systems.

(d) To require owners or tenants of any property in the district to
connect with any such system or systems, and to contract with the owners
or tenants for such connections. In order to require owners or tenants of
any property in the district to connect with any such system or systems,
the board of supervisors shall have power and authority to adopt ordinances
so requiring owners or tenants to connect with such systems, and to use
the same, and the board of supervisors shall have power to provide for a
punishment in the ordinance of not exceeding a fifty dollar fine for each
failure and refusal to so connect with such systems, or to use the same.
Before adopting any such ordinance the board of supervisors shall give
public notice of the intention to propose the same for passage by posting
hand bill notices of such proposal in three or more public places in the
sanitary district at least ten days prior to the time the ordinance shall be
proposed for passage. The ordinance shall not become effective after its
passage until ten days like notice has been given by posting copies of such
ordinance in three or more public places in the district. Violations of such
ordinances shall be tried before the county court of the county as is pro-
vided for trial of misdemeanors, and with like right of appeal.

(e) To fix and prescribe the rates of charge for the use of any such
system or systems and to provide for the collection of such charges. And
to enable the board to enforce the collection of charges for the use of any
such system against the person or persons, firm or corporation using the
same, the charges when made for the use of any such system shall be col-
lectible by distress, levy, garnishment, attachment or otherwise without
recourse to court procedure, except so far as the selected procedure may
require the same. And the board shall have power to designate as its agent
for the purpose of collection such officer or officers, person or persons as it
may determine, and the officer or officers, person or persons shall be vested
with the same power and authority as a sheriff or constable may have in
like procedure.

Any unpaid charge shall become a lien superior to the interest of any
owner, lessee or tenant, and next in succession to county taxes, on the real
property on which the use of any such system was made and for which the
charge was imposed; provided, however, such lien shall not bind or effect
a subsequent bona fide purchaser of such real estate for valuable consider-
ation without actual notice of such lien, except and until from the time that
the amount of such charge is entered in the Judgment Lien Docket kept
in the office where deeds may be recorded in the political subdivision where-
in the real estate or a part thereof is located. It shall be the duty of the
clerk in whose office deeds may be recorded to keep and preserve and hold
available for public inspection such Judgment Lien Docket and to cause
entries to be made and indexed therein from time to time upon certification
by the board for which he shall be entitled to a fee of fifty cents per entry
to be paid by the board and added to the amount of the lien.

Such lien on any real estate may be discharged by the payment to the
board of the total amount of such lien, and interest at the rate of six per
centum per annum to the date of such payment, and the entry fee of fifty
cents, and it shall be the duty of the board to deliver a certificate thereof
to the person paying the same, and upon presentation thereof and the pay-
ment of the further fee of twenty-five cents by such person, the clerk hav-
ing the record of such lien shall mark the entry of such lien satisfied.

Jurisdiction to enforce any such lien shall be in equity and the court
may decree the real estate subject to the lien, or any part thereof, to be
sold and the proceeds applied to the payment of such lien and the interest
which may accrue to the date of such payment.

Nothing contained herein shall be construed to prejudice the right of
the board to recover the amount of such lien, or of the charge, and the
interest which may accrue, by action at law or otherwise.

(f) To employ and fix the compensation of any technical, clerical, or
other force and help which from time to time, in their judgment, may be
deemed necessary for the construction, operation or maintenance of any
such system or systems.

(g) To negotiate and contract with any person, firm, corporation,
county, authority or municipality with regard to the connection of any
system or systems with any other system or systems now in operation or
hereafter to be established, and with regard to any other matter necessary
and proper for the construction or operation and maintenance of any such
system within the sanitary district.

(h) To contract for the extension of any such system into territory
outside of the district, and for the use thereof, upon such terms and condi-
tions as the board may from time to time determine upon.

__ (i) With respect to the maintenance and operation of said motor ve-
hicle parking lots system, the board is authorized to purchase, install,
maintain and operate, and to fix and charge parking meter fees for the
use of, such parking lot or lots.