HIS

CHAPTER 53.

An Act respecting Improvement Districts.

(Assented to April 2, 1927.)

IS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Alberta, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as "The Improvement Districts Short title Act, 1927."

INTERPRETATION

Interpretation

2. In this Act unless the context otherwise requires(a) "Assessor" shall mean any person appointed by the Assessor Minister to perform the or any of the duties of an assessor prescribed by this Act;

(b) "Board" shall mean the Assessment Equalization Board Board;

(c) "Clerk" shall mean any person in the employ of the Clerk

Department;

Owner

(d) "Conditional owner" shall mean any person entitled Conditional to the possession of land which is exempted generally from taxation by the Province, and shall, but not so as to restrict the generality of the foregoing words, include lessees of minerals or mineral rights from the Dominion of Canada or the Province;

(e) "Department" shall mean the Department of Muni- Department cipal Affairs;

Minister

(f) "Deputy Minister" shall mean the Deputy Minister Deputy
of Municipal Affairs;

(g) "District" shall mean an improvement district, District
existing as such at the date of the passing of this
Act or constituted under the provisions of this Act;
(h) "Hamlet" shall mean any area of land subdivided Hamlet
into building lots or as a townsite, a plan of which
is registered in a Land Titles Office, or used by some
person for trade or business purposes other than
farm purposes, and any area declared by an order
of the Minister to be a hamlet;

(i) "Improvement district" shall mean any improvement trict
district heretofore or hereafter formed or consti-
tuted;

ments

(j) "Improvements" and "buildings and improvements" Improveshall mean

Land

Mineral

Minister

Owner

Parcel

Person

Purchaser

(i) all buildings or any part of any buildings and all structures and fixtures erected upon, in, over, under or affixed to the parcel of land assessed;

(ii) all increase in the value of the parcel of land assessed which has been caused by the immediate or direct expenditure of either labour or capital upon the parcel;

(iii) the part of the cost of any irrigation or drainage project properly attributable to the parcel assessed, whether there has or has not been any immediate or direct expenditure of labour or capital upon the parcel;

(k) "Land" shall mean lands, tenements and hereditaments and any estate or interest therein, and shall, but not so as to restrict the generality of the foregoing words, include minerals and growing timber; (1) "Mineral" shall, but not so as to restrict in any way the ordinary meaning of the word, include coal, natural gas, petroleum, gasolene and all oils of a mineral nature;

(m) "Minister" shall mean the Minister of Municipal Affairs;

(n) "Owner" shall mean any person who is registered under The Land Titles Act as the owner of a freehold estate in possession of land;

(0) "Parcel" shall mean—

(i) any lot in any area of land, a plan of subdivision of which has been registered in a Land Titles Office;

(ii) where there is no such plan of subdivision and subject to paragraph (iii) a quarter section of land according to the system of surveys under The Dominion Land Surveys Act, or any smaller area;

(iii) all the land included in any one grazing or mineral lease or permit from the Dominion of Canada or the Province, or forming a part of a railway, irrigation or drainage right of way; (iv) any mineral or minerals assessed as a unit and separately from the land, in, on or beneath which it lies or they lie;

(p) "Person" shall include a corporation, joint stock company and partnership;

(q) "Purchaser" shall mean any person who has purchased or otherwise acquired land within the district, whether he has purchased or otherwise acquired the land direct from the owner thereof or from another purchaser, and has not become the owner thereof.

ORGANIZATION

of district

3. The Lieutenant Governor may by Order, notice of Organization which shall be published in The Alberta Gazette, constitute as an improvement district any portion of the Province not already contained in a city, town, village, municipal district or improvement district; and may designate such improvement district by a distinctive name or number.

4. The Minister may at any time by order, notice of Disorganizawhich shall be published in The Alberta Gazette

(a) direct that any improvement district shall cease to
be such; or

(b) alter the boundaries of any improvement district
by way of addition thereto or subtraction there-
from; or

(c) amalgamate any two or more districts.

IMPLIED PROVISIONS

tion, alteration, amalgamation

from fixed

5.-(1) Where in this Act a date is fixed on or by which Variation a certain thing is to be done or proceedings had or taken, dates and it appears that such date was fixed having regard to an earlier date on or by which a certain thing is to be done or proceedings had or taken, then notwithstanding anything herein contained, if delay be occasioned or an extension of time allowed, in respect of the earlier date, a like delay or extension of time shall be allowed in respect of the later date.

time limits

6.-(1) If anything to be done within a number of days Variation in or at a time fixed by or under this Act cannot be or is not so done, the Minister may by order from time to time appoint a further or other time for doing the same, whether the time at or within which the same ought to have been done has or has not arrived or expired, as the case may be.

(2) Anything done at or within the time specified in such order, shall be as valid as if it had been done at or within the time fixed by or under this Act.

fixed dates

7. Where in this Act, a certain day is fixed on which or Variation of by which certain things are to be done or proceedings had or taken and the day so fixed is a Sunday or other holiday, such things or proceedings shall be done, had or taken on the next day following the fixed day which is not a Sunday or holiday.

ASSESSMENT AND TAXATION

PROPERTY ASSESSABLE

8. (1) All land which, or any interest in which is sub- Land ject or liable to taxation by the Province in any improvement district shall, subject to the following exemptions, be assessed at its fair actual value exclusive, save as is hereinafter otherwise expressly directed, of the value of any buildings and improvements or minerals.

Land within a hamlet

Exemption from

assessment

Grazing leases

Minerals

(2) Land within a hamlet shall be assessed at its fair actual value inclusive of two-thirds of the fair actual value of buildings and improvements thereon.

(3) The following lands and the minerals and timber thereon or therein shall be exempt from assessment and taxation:

(a) Land to the extent of eight acres held by or for the use of the board of trustees of any school district established or formed under The School Act or The School Ordinance;

(b) Land held by or for the use of any religious body on which a building chiefly used for divine service or public worship is situated, but to the extent of three acres only, together with such building, but exclusive of any other building situated thereon;

(c) Land of a company formed under the provisions of The Cemetery Act, and also any other land in use as a public cemetery, but in the latter case to the extent of twenty-five acres only;

(d) Land belonging to any municipality when held for the public use of such municipality;

(e) Land of any agricultural society organized or formed under The Agricultural Societies Act;

(f) Land attached to and used in connection with and for the purposes of any hospital which receives aid from the Province under the provisions of The Hospitals Act;

(g) Land covered by water which is in the course of being reclaimed under a plan or scheme duly authorized by the Government of Alberta or the Government of Canada, and so long as so covered only. (4) Land held under a grazing lease or grazing permit from the Government of Canada or of the Province and land let by either of such Governments upon terms which restrict the user thereof to use for grazing purposes, shall not be assessed, but shall be subject to taxation as is hereinafter provided.

(5) The minerals or any mineral in or on any parcel or parcels of land may be assessed as a parcel separate from the parcels containing the surface on, in or beneath which such minerals lie, and, if separately assessed, shall be assessed at their or its fair actual value:

Provided, however, that where any minerals or mineral in or on any parcel of land are not or is not separately assessed, such minerals or mineral shall be deemed to form one parcel with the surface unless the ownership of such minerals or mineral is vested in some person other than the owner of the surface, in which event the surface (together with all minerals, the ownership of which is vested in the owner of the surface and are not separately assessed, if any) shall be deemed to form one parcel of land, and the minerals or mineral separately owned shall form other parcels.