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The city of Urbandale has run afoul, again, of property owners who are protesting preliminary tax assessments that target land abutting street improvement projects.

Lawsuits were filed Feb. 1 in Dallas and Polk county district courts challenging 13 tax levies on separate street improvement projects, one on the city’s west side, the other on the city’s north side. Both suits ask for a reduction in the assessments.

Plaintiffs in both cases appeared at a public hearing Jan. 15 to protest their assessments. Attorney Joseph Happe, who successfully sued the city in 2005 over a special assessment on his Urbandale property, represents property owners in both lawsuits.

One Urbandale case stems from preliminary assessments for a $6.7 million project to rebuild and widen 1.5 miles of 156th Street from the city’s southern border to Meredith Drive. The project, which includes construction of sidewalks and a bike path, resulted in total assessments of $1.9 million that ranged from $60 to $145,000, depending on the size of property.

The other Urbandale lawsuit results from a $681,990 project for street improvements on 74th Street from Hickory Lane to Goodman Drive, and on Goodman Drive from 72nd Street to 74th Street. Preliminary assessments totaled $267,653.

Urbandale City Manager Bob Layton said that because the lawsuits do not challenge the street construction, just the assessments, both projects will proceed. The City Council is expected to review bids at its Feb. 12 meeting.

Under Iowa law, the assessments represent the “special benefit” property owners received from having public improvements near their property. Urbandale and many other communities calculate the special assessment from the public right of way to a depth of 300 feet, with higher assessments along the frontage and lower assessments at the rear. That formula, with some variations, has been used to pave Iowa streets since at least the 1950s.

Final assessments and the actual tax bill are calculated when a project is completed. The final assessment can be less, but not more, than the preliminary assessment.

Both lawsuits argue that the formula is faulty and that the special benefit for each property, as measured in dollars and cents, was excessive.