§ 134-26. Petitions.

(a)

Generally. If the owners of the majority of the frontage of the land liable to assessment for street improvements shall petition the council for improvements, citing this section and designating by general description the improvement to be undertaken and the street or part thereof to be improved, and if after a public hearing as provided by the Charter and this Code or other ordinances of the city such improvements are approved, it shall thereafter be the duty of the council to proceed to cause such improvement to be made in accordance with the prayers of the petition and the best judgment of the council. All petitions for street improvements must be signed in ink by the owners of the property signed for or by their duly authorized agents. The petition shall state that property owners may be assessed for the cost of the improvement.

(b)

Execution when city owns property. When the city owns property along the street whereon an improvement is desired, the mayor may sign the petition in the name of the city for the full frontage of the property owned by the city along the street.

(c)

Right to withdraw signature. Any person shall have the right to withdraw such person's signature from a petition for the pavement or other improvement of a street or portion thereof, but the withdrawal must be in the handwriting of the withdrawing petitioner and shall state that it is the petitioner's own act, uninfluenced by persuasion.

(d)

Effect of withdrawal of signature. Any person who has signed a petition for the pavement of a street or portion thereof or other improvement and withdraws such person's signature therefrom prior to adoption of an ordinance authorizing the pavement of the street or portion thereof will not thereafter be permitted to resign the same petition for pavement of that street or portion thereof. The person withdrawing the signature may sign any other paving petition, but the city will not approve the other petition unless the owners of the majority of frontage on the street, including the party who had withdrawn such party's signature from a previous petition, sign the petition.

(e)

Misrepresentation to induce withdrawal of signers. Any person who appeals personally to signers of such petitions for the pavement of a street or a portion thereof or other street improvement to withdraw their names and in making such appeals misrepresents the facts, either as to the cost of the respective pavements or any other facts connected therewith, shall be deemed guilty of an offense and on conviction thereof shall be punished as provided by law.

(Code 1977, § 9-3054)