be necessary to carry out the spirit and intent of this article in establishing and maintaining a public library and reading

room.

Sec. 2. Repeal.-That Section 3797, Revised Statutes of 1913, is hereby repealed.

Approved, April 25, 1917.

CHAPTER 87.

(House Roll No. 73.)

[Introduced by Messrs. Richmond, Lovely, Hopkins, Jelen, Craddock, Nielsen, Shannon, Bulla, Keegan, and Schneider.]

AN ACT Supplemental to Chapter 46 of the Revised Statutes of Nebraska for 1913 and relating to Municipal Corporations, and to amend Section 4104, 4106, of the Revised Statutes of Nebraska for 1913, and Sections 4285, 4286, 4287, 4313, 4368, 4385, 4387 and 4388 of the Revised Statutes of Nebraska for 1913, as amended by Chapter 75 of the Session Laws of Nebraska for 1915, and to repeal said Sections so amended, and to repeal Sections 4307, 4384 of the Revised Statutes of Nebraska for 1913.

Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Nebraska:

Section 1. Omaha-public comfort stations authorized.-In each city of the metropolitan class, the Mayor and City Council shall have power by ordinance to erect, establish and maintain public comfort stations, and they may locate such public comfort stations on any street, alley or public grounds or on any land acquired for such purpose, and to that end they shall possess such power as may be necessary to thus locate, establish and maintain such public comfort stations.

Sec. 2. Street improvement abutting on property of water district assessment. Whenever any public improvements are made upon any street or streets in any street improvement district in any city of the metropolitan class, and there are lots or grounds abutting upon such street or streets in such improvement district that are owned by such city, and held as a part of a water plant or system, such property shall not be subject to special

Ch. 87)

Platting Adjacent Territory

225

assessment for improvements made within such district, but the cost of improving one-half that portion of the street or streets in front of and abutting upon such lots or grounds, shall be paid out of the water fund provided for in Section 4258 of the Revised Statutes of Nebraska for 1913, or any other fund which may be created by law, to pay the cost of operation, maintenance or improvement of such water plant. And the board, body or officers having charge of said fund are hereby directed to pay such costs of such improvement upon the completion thereof to the city treasurer of such city and such sum so paid shall be applied to pay the partial cost of such improvement. Whenever any water main is laid by a Metropolitan Water district in a street in any city of the Metropolitan Class and there are lots or grounds abutting upon such street owned and controlled by such city, the one-half cost of constructing such water main in front of such lots or grounds, to be determined by the Metropolitan Water district, but not to exceed fifty cents per lineal front foot, shall be paid by the city out of the general fund thereof. It shall be the duty of the council of such city to provide for the payment of such cost to the treasurer of such Metropolitan Water district.

Sec. 3. Platting adjacent territory.-No owner of real estate located within three miles of any city of the metropolitan class, when such real estate is located in the same county as such metropolitan city and outside any organized city or village, shall be permitted to subdivide, plat or lay out said real estate in building lots, and streets or other portions of the same intended to be dedicated for public use or for the use of purchasers or owners of lots fronting thereon or adjacent thereto, without first having obtained the approval thereof by the mayor and city council of the metropolitan city, and no plats of such real estate shall be recorded or have any force or effect unless the same be approved by the mayor and council of such metropolitan city.

Sec. 4. Appropriation of property for streets, parks, etc.— In each city of the metropolitan class, it shall be the duty of the City Planning Commission to designate the lands, lots or grounds which, in its judgment, such Commission deems necessary to be used, purchased or appropriated for laying out, widening or enlarging any street, alley, boulevard, parkway or park. And thereupon the mayor and council may take such action as

may be necessary for the purchase or appropriation of the lands, lots or grounds so designated. When such property is purchased it shall be done by ordinance. The power to appropriate lands, lots or grounds for such purposes being hereby conferred upon the mayor and council, and for the purpose of making payment for such lands, lots or grounds so appropriated or purchased, as provided by law, assess such real estate as may be especially benefited by reason of such appropriation or purchase thereof, for such purpose, and issue bonds as may be required for such purpose to the extent and amount required in excess of such assessments, but no property in excess of $100,000 in value shall be appropriated in any one year under the provisions of this section without the approval of a majority of the electors voting thereon, and no such bonds in excess of $100,000 shall be issued in any one year without a vote of the electors as provided in this chapter. The power hereby granted to purchase or appropriate property shall be in addition to the powers heretofore possessed by the mayor and council to purchase or appropriate property.

Provided, however, that whenever any property sought to be so appropriated for park purposes, and fifty percent of which is occupied by residential and business houses, no proceedings shall be taken or had to appropriate the same for a park unless a majority of those owning the said tracts and lots of the proposed park shall give their written consent and approval of the

same.

Whenever the mayor and council shall proceed under this section to appropriate private property, the necessity therefor shall be declared by ordinance, and the mayor, with the approval of the council, shall appoint three disinterested freeholders of the city, who, after being duly sworn to perform the duties of their appointment with fidelity and impartiality, and after reasonable notice to the owners and parties interested in the property, shall assess the damages to the owners of the property and the parties interested therein respectively, taken by such appropriation. Such assessment shall be reported to the city council and shall not be binding upon the city unless approved by the mayor and city council by ordinance.

The special assessment herein provided for may be made as other special assessments, or the mayor and council upon the

Ch. 87) Appropriation of Property, for Streets, Etc 227 recommendation of the City Planning Commission may provide. that such assessments shall be made payable in five, ten or fifteen equal annual installments, and when so made the first of said installments shall be made to become delinquent in fifty days after such levy, and one installment in one year from the date of levy, and one installment each year thereafter until all are provided for. Each of said installments except the first shall draw interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the time of levy until the same shall become delinquent, and after the same shall become delinquent shall draw interest at the rate of 1% per month, payable in advance, as in case of other special taxes. Such assessment shall be collected and enforced as in other cases of special assessment.

Whenever the municipal authorities determine to levy assessments in installments to pay all or a portion of the cost of acquiring property as provided herein, the mayor and council shall have power and may by ordinance cause to be issued bonds of the city to be called "Special Improvement Bonds" of the City of

Such bonds shall set forth the improvement proceeding under which they were issued, shall bear interest not exceeding a rate of 5% per annum with interest coupons attached, and in such case shall also provide that the special taxes and assessments levied in such proceeding shall constitute a sinking fund for the payment of such bond with interest. Such bonds shall not be issued until the special taxes for such improvements have been levied.

Sec. 4a. Acquiring or appropriating property for municipal use-election.-Whenever the qualified electors of any city of the metropolitan class vote at any general or special election to acquire and appropriate by an exercise of the power of eminent domain, any water works, water works system, gas plant, electric light plant, or electric light and power plant, or street railway, or street railway system, located or operating within or partly within and partly without such city if the main part of such works, plant, or system be within any such city and even though a franchise for the construction and operation of any such works, plant or system may or may not have expired, then any such city shall possess and have the power and authority by an exercise of the power of eminent domain to ap

propriate and acquire for the public use of any such city and such works, plant, or system, and the duly constituted authorities of any such city shall have the power to submit such question or proposition, in the usual manner, to the qualified electors of any such city at any general city election or at any special city election and may submit such proposition in connection with any city special election called for any other purpose, and the votes cast thereon shall be canvassed and the result found and declared as in any other city election: Provided, such city authorities shall submit such question at any of such elections whenever a petition asking for such submission signed by the legal voters of the city equaling in number fifteen per cent of the votes cast at the last general city election and filed in the City Clerk's office, at least fifteen days before the election at which the submission is asked.

Sec. 4b. Condemnation-court of-proceedure.-If a majority of the votes cast at any such election, upon such proposition, be in favor thereof, then the City Council or officer possessing the power and duty to ascertain and declare the result of such election shall certify such result immediately to the Supreme Court of the state and the said Supreme Court while in session, or the Chief Justice of the said court, if the said court. be not then in session, shall within thirty days after the receipt. of such certificate, appoint three district judges from three of the judicial districts of the state, one of which judges shall be from the district wherein any such city is located, and said three judges shall constitute a court of condemnation for the ascertainment, and finding of the value of any such plant, works, or system and the said Supreme Court shall enter an order requiring such judges to attend as a court of condemnation at the county seat in which such city is located within such time as may be stated in such order, and said district judges shall so attend as ordered and such court of condemnation at the time it meets shall organize and proceed with its duties, and it may adjourn from time to time, and it shall fix a time for the appearance before it of all such corporations or persons as the court may deem necessary to be made parties to such condemnation proceedings or which the city or the corporation or persons owning any such plant, system or works may desire to have made a party to such proceedings, and if such time of appearance shall occur after any proceedings have