12-612a.   Improvement of railroad right-of-ways leased to city for streetpurposes; bonds; protest petitions; election.Whenever a railroad company has leased to a city, for a term of 25 yearsor, a portion of the company's right-of-way tobe used for street purposes, at a nominal cash rental but with the termsof the lease providing that no special assessments for streetimprovements shall be levied or assessed against the lessor or againstthe property owned by the lessor which is adjacent to the leasedpremises, the governing body of such city may, by ordinance, declare itnecessary to improvethe property so leased as a business thoroughfare and cause the propertyso leased to be graded, curbed, guttered,paved, macadamized, regraded, recurbed, reguttered or remacadamized. Thecost of such improvement shall be borne by the city as a wholeand shall be paid by the issuance of general improvement bonds of thecity according to law. Before the improvement is made, the ordinance shallbe published once each week for two consecutive weeks in the official citypaper. If, within 20 daysafter the ordinance is published, there is filed with the city clerka protest signed by qualified electors of the city equal in number to notless than 10% of the qualified electors of the city who voted for the office ofmayor at the last election at which a mayor was elected, the improvementshall not be made nor bonds issuedunless the governing body calls an election within the time andmanner provided by K.S.A. 10-120 and amendments thereto. If at such election theproposition receives the favorable vote of a majority of the votescast on the proposition, the improvement may be made and bonds issued therefor.The ordinance declaring it necessary to improvethe property as a business thoroughfare shall contain a statementrelating to the provision for protest.

      History:   L. 1951, ch. 147, § 1; L. 1981, ch. 173, § 13; July 1.