Code of Alabama
Article 1 - General Provisions.
Section 11-48-5 - Adoption of Ordinance or Resolution Describing Proposed Improvement, Ordering Preparation of Plans, Specifications, etc., Thereof, Etc.

(a) When the council of any city or town shall determine to open, widen, extend, construct, or improve any street, alley, avenue, sidewalk, highway, or other public place or to make any other public improvements or undertake any work authorized by the provisions of this article, the cost of which or any part thereof it is proposed to assess against the property abutting on, served, illuminated, drained, elevated, reclaimed, protected, or otherwise specially benefited or increased in value by said improvements, it shall adopt an ordinance or resolution to that effect, describing the nature and extent of the work, the general character of the materials to be used and the location and terminal point thereof and the streets, avenues, alleys, or other highways or parts thereof embraced therein, and it shall direct that full details, drawings, plans, specifications, and surveys of said work and estimates be prepared by the city or town engineer or such other person as may be designated in such ordinance or resolution, or the said council may adopt plans for such work already prepared.
(b) When the contemplated improvement is a sanitary sewer or sewers or a sanitary sewer system, including outlets and sewage treatment and sewage disposal plants, such ordinance or resolution shall describe the territory or area within said municipality to be drained, served or benefited by such sewer or sewers or sewer system and define the same by naming the streets, avenues, alleys or other lines by which the same is bounded or shall describe the frontage of the property abutting on and drained, served or benefited by such sewer or sewers or sewer system and define the same.
(c) When the contemplated improvement is a storm water sewer or sewers or main trunk storm water sewers or a storm water sewer system, such ordinance or resolution shall describe the territory or area to be drained, served or benefited by such storm water sewers or main trunk storm water sewers or storm water sewer systems and define the same by naming the streets, avenues, alleys or other lines by which the same is bounded; provided, that when the improvement contemplated is a storm water sewer or sewers or drains and lateral storm water sewers in connection with the improvement of streets for the purpose of properly draining, serving or benefiting said streets and the property abutting thereon, such ordinance or resolution may define the area to be drained, served, or benefited by each of such sewers as the property fronting on each portion of the street or streets provided to be improved, actually drained, served, or benefited by each of said storm water sewers or drains or lateral storm water sewers.
(d) When the contemplated improvement is the construction of water or gas mains or of water and gas service connections, said ordinance or resolution shall name the property abutting on the portion of the streets, avenues, or alleys in which said water or gas mains or water or gas service connections are to be constructed and which is to be served or benefited by said improvement.
(e) When the contemplated improvement is the construction of a system for draining swamps or for the draining of swamps or inundated or overflowed or submerged land within the limits of any municipality in this state having a population of 60,000 inhabitants or more according to the most recent federal census, or the filling in, elevating, or reclaiming of any submerged, inundated or overflowed land within the limits of such municipality, such ordinance or resolution shall describe the territory or area to be drained, served, benefited, elevated, or reclaimed by such improvement.
(f) When the contemplated improvement is the construction, acquirement, improvement, reimprovement, or extension of seawalls, dikes, levees, or embankments for the purpose of protection against storms, rivers, waters, floods, waves, tides, or seas, such ordinance or resolution shall define the nature and extent of the work, the general character of the materials to be used and the location of terminal points of such seawall.
(g) When the contemplated improvement is the construction of an ornamental system of lighting or white way system, said ordinance shall describe the nature and extent of the work, the general character of the materials to be used and the streets, avenues, alleys, and other highways and public places to be so lighted and abutting upon the streets so to be lighted with such ornamental lighting system.
(h) Such ordinance or resolution may set out and describe certain alternative types of paving and other materials, and the council may require advertisements for proposals on the various types enumerated, and the final selection by the council of the type or types of said pavement and other materials from among the alternatives so enumerated shall, in that event, be postponed until the bids shall have been received.

Structure Code of Alabama