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Urbandale is ready to close the book on a paving project that landed the city in court and resulted in changes to its procedures for assessing property owners for the costs of street improvements.

The happy ending is that the overall project came in more than $1 million under budget, with the city enjoying $509,759 of those savings and property owners saving $521,296 in final assessments.

Keeping the book from closing alltogether is a Dallas County court case in which eight property owners saw their bills for the paving project slashed after a judge ruled Oct. 19 that the benefit to their properties was less than the figure touted by the city when it planned the project.

The Urbandale City Council voted Nov. 3 to appeal the ruling to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Because the project touched several large properties, initial assessments – the amount levied by municipalities to recoup what they call “special benefits” to properties that front street projects – ranged as high as $145,000 and resulted in a spirited public hearing early last year where some residents complained that they were being gouged.

The Dallas County lawsuit was filed in February 2008, with 11 property owners alleging that the city erred by using a common formula to determine assessments for 228 properties that abutted or were within 300 feet of 156th Street. That formula overestimated the value of the benefit that property owners would receive by having a new street, in addition to the sidewalk and bike trail that were part of the project, plaintiffs said.

District Judge Gary Kimes agreed, ruling that the majority of the costs for the project should have been paid by all taxpayers and lowering assessments by 75 percent on the final street bill and 50 percent on the sidewalk bill for the six property owners who remained in the lawsuit. In addition, he ordered an additional 10 percent reduction in their total bill if they paid their assessments within 90 days after all appeals are exhausted.

If the ruling stands, it would add $168,935 to the city’s final bill.

The project also resulted in a new method for assessing properties of at least 1.25 acres that front street projects. The city’s “acreage assessment” plan applies to the cost of streets only – the city also charges property owners for part of the cost of installing sidewalks – and resulted in a savings of about 25 percent on final street assessments for eight other property owners.