Which basis allocates improvement costs based on the number of feet a property has along the street?

• A. Front-Foot Basis
• B. Pro Rata Share
• C. Area Basis
• D. Perimeter Basis

Answer: (A)

Front-foot basis allocates street-improvement costs based on how much of the street each property fronts. The idea is that the benefit from paving or improving a street goes to the property lines that face the street, so a parcel with more feet of frontage on the street should bear a larger share of the cost.

For example, if three parcels have 40, 60, and 100 feet of street frontage and the project costs $200, the shares would be proportional to frontage: the first parcel pays 20% of $200, the second 30%, and the third 50%. This direct link between frontage length and cost share is why front-foot is the appropriate basis for these improvements.

Using an area basis would allocate costs by the parcel’s total size rather than its street-facing length, which doesn’t reflect who benefits most. A perimeter basis would involve total boundary length, including sides away from the street, which also isn’t aligned with the actual street-front benefit.