The Austin City Council voted in favor of a three percent increase to paving assessment rates during its regular meeting on Tuesday.

The increase, which came at the recommendation of Public Works Director Steven Lang, will apply to the residential and commercial/industrial assessment rates.

In the event of street repairs, project costs are assessed to adjacent property owners. About 32.3 percent of street project costs were assessed to adjacent property owners in 2018.

The assessment period is spread out over a maximum period of 15 years.

In the event of residential properties, the basis of the amount is the cost to reconstruct the street divided by four, with each side paying ¼ of the cost and the city paying half of the cost.

If there is no existing curb and a curb is installed, the property will be charged additional for the curb at the designated rate.

The 2019 rates for residential properties are:

• Sidewalk (4-inches thick) – $5.25 per square foot
• Sidewalk (6-inches thick) – $7.50 per square foot
• Concrete Curb – $16.50 per linear foot
• Urban Street Reconstruction – $46.75 per linear foot
• Rural Street Reconstruction – $35.50 per linear foot
• Mill and Overlay – $17 per linear foot

In the event of commercial property, the basis of the amount is determined the same way as residential costs. However, in the case of a commercial corner lot where the owner maintains a residence, the owner pays a commercial assessment rate for the average length of the two sides and a residential rate for the remaining length. The commercial assessment rate will be the first rate applied if the two phases are done in different years.

The 2019 rates for commercial property are:

• Sidewalk (4-inches thick) – $5.25 per square foot
• Sidewalk (6-inches thick) – $7.50 per square foot
• Concrete Curb – $16.50 per linear foot
• Urban Street Reconstruction – $66.75 per linear foot
• Rural Street Reconstruction – $51.00 per linear foot
• Mill and Overlay – $26.75 per linear foot

Lang said that a new fully reconstructed roadway completed under the direction of the city engineer is expected to last a minimum of 35 years. Any property on a street that is being reconstructed prior to that 35-year lifespan will receive a 1/35th reduction in assessment for every year short of 35 years.

The council also passed a resolution to move a revised feasibility report for reconstruction work to be done on Sixth Street Northeast to be part of a public hearing on Feb. 19. The revision includes an alternate bid for full depth reclamation of the existing asphalt pavement and pave 4-inch asphalt on Sixth Street Northeast from 30th Avenue to 36th Avenue Northeast.