Harball/Obligations of Willis AdditionCharles A. Harball Office of City Attorney
City Attorney 312 First Avenue East
P.O. Box 1997
Kalispell, MT 59903-1997
August 13, 2003
Debbie Willis
940 Sunnyside Drive
Kalispell, Montana 59901
Tel 406.758.7708
Fax 406.758.7771
charball@kalispell.com
Re: Obligations of Willis Addition as shown on the map or plat thereof and of
record with the Clerk and Recorder of Flathead County, Montana, to
purported Developer's Agreement between Vista Construction, Inc. and the
City of Kalispell
Dear Ms. Willis:
You have requested a legal opinion from my office regarding the following issue:
In 1997 Vista Construction, Inc., then owner of the real property which is
known as Lonepine View Estates, paid to install City utilities to that site. At that
time representatives of Vista Construction, Inc., signed a written Developer's
Agreement with the interim City Manager. The agreement was never taken to or
approved by the City Council. The agreement purports to require "latecomers" to
reimburse Vista Construction for their pro-rata share of the installation costs at the
time of hookup. Your property, known as the Willis Addition, located on the west
side of Denver Avenue and south of Sunnyside, would be serviced by this utility
line. You have asked whether you or any future owners of your property will be
required to pay a "latecomer's fee".
It is my opinion that the City may not act to enforce the Developer's Agreement
described above as it was not validly authorized by the City Council. Therefore, you
or your successors may hook on to the City utilities without the City demanding
that you pay a "latecomer's fee" in addition to the normal hookup fees.
Sincerely,
C
Charles A. H ball
City Attor - y
cc: Chris Kukulski, City Manager
Jim Hansz, Director Public Works