ORD 91-30 VACATION OF STREETS AND ALLEYS•e
ORDINANCE NO. 91 - 30
AN ORDINANCE of the City of Winslow, Washington,
relating to vacation of streets and alleys adding a
new Chapter 12.34 to the Winslow Municipal Code.
WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the City of Winslow to
establish a procedure and criteria for vacation of City streets and
alleys; now, therefore
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WINSLOW, WASHINGTON, DO
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. A new Chapter 12.34, to be entitled "Vacation
of Streets and alleys", is added to the Winslow Municipal Code as
follows:
12.34.010. Statement of Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish
procedures, notice requirements and fees for the vacation
of streets and alleys within the City. This chapter is
intended to implement the authority granted to the City
by RCW Chapter 35.79 and RCW 3 5A . 4 7.02 0 and to conform to
their provisions. In case of conflict between this
chapter and those statutes, the statutory provisions
shall be controlling.
12.34.020. Initiation of Vacation.
The owners of an interest in any real property
abutting upon any street or alley who may desire to
vacate the street or alley, or any part thereof, may
petition the City Council. In the alternative, the City
Council may itself initiate a vacation by resolution.
The petition or resolution shall be filed with the City
Clerk.
12.34.030. Petition for Vacation.
The petition shall be in a form prescribed by
the Director of Public Works and shall contain a name,
address and telephone number of a representative for the
petitioners. The petition shall also discuss the
criteria set forth in Section 12.34.110. The sufficiency
of the petition shall be governed by RCW 35A.01.040.
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12.34.040. Petition Fees.
Every petition for the vacation of any street
or alley or any part thereof, shall be accompanied by a
fee in an amount established by resolution of the City to
defray a portion of the administrative costs incurred in
processing the petition and publishing, posting and
mailing notices. The fee shall not be refunded under any
circumstances. When the City Council, or a committee
thereof, recommends granting a vacation, an additional
fee in the amount of the actual costs of an appraisal, as
provided for in Section 12.34.140, shall be paid to the
City.
12.34.050. Survey, Vicinity Map, Plat Map and legal
description.
Every petition shall be accompanied by:
(1) A survey, (2) a vicinity map showing the
general area of the proposed vacation, (3) a plat map
prepared and sealed by a Professional Land Surveyor,
registered in the State of Washington, indicating the
specific parcels abutting the proposed street or alley
to be vacated, and (4) an exact legal description of the
portion of road to be vacated prepared and sealed by a
Professional Land Surveyor, registered in the State of
Washington.
Flagging which indicates the boundaries of the
street or alley shall be installed when the survey is
conducted.
12.34.060. Setting of Hearing.
Upon receipt of the petition, the fee and all
required documents, the City clerk shall forward the
petition and required documents to the Director of Public
Works, or the Director's designee, who shall determine
whether the petition has been signed by the owners of
more than two-thirds of the property abutting the part of
the street or alley to be vacated. If the petition has
been signed by the requisite percentage of such owners,
the Director of Public Works, or the Director's designee,
shall bring the petition before the City Council within
thirty days of receipt of the petition, and the City
Council shall by resolution fix a time when the petition
will be heard and determined by the City Council, or a
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committee of the City Council, which time shall be not
more than sixty days nor less than twenty days after the
date of adoption of the resolution. Where the City
Council initiates the vacation by resolution, that
resolution shall fix a time when the proposed vacation
will be heard and determined by the City Council or a
committee of the City Council.
12.34.070. Staff Report.
The Public Works Department shall prepare a
report concerning the proposed vacation, which report
shall address the criteria (See 12.34.110) to be
considered by the City Council in determining whether to
vacate the street or alley, and such other information as
deemed appropriate by the Public Works Department. In
preparing the report, the Public Works Department shall
solicit comments from the Department of Planning and
Community Development and the Police Department, and may
solicit comments from other governmental agencies and
utility companies having jurisdiction or utilities within
the boundaries of the City. The report shall be
submitted to the City Council, or the City Council
Committee hearing the matter and to the representative of
the petitioners, not less than five days before the
hearing.
12.34.080. Notice of Hearing.
Upon the passage of the resolution fixing the
time for hearing the petition or proposal for vacation,
the City Clerk, or the Director of Public Works, acting
under direction and supervision of the City Clerk, shall
give not less than twenty days' notice of the time, place
and purpose of the hearing by (1) publishing written
notice once in the City's official newspaper, (2) posting
a placard in a conspicuous place at each end of the
street or alley sought to be vacated, and (3) mailing
written notice to all petitioners at the addresses on the
petition and all owners of property abutting the street
or alley proposed to be vacated, as shown on the records
of the Kitsap County Assessor. The Public Works
Department shall send the same written notice to the
representative of the petitioners at the address on the
petition. The placards shall be highly visible and at
least eleven by fourteen inches in size, and shall
include a map showing the location of the street or alley
proposed to be vacated.
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12.34.090. Protest.
If fifty percent or more of the owners of the
abutting property file written objections to a City
Council - initiated vacation with the City Clerk, prior
to the time of the hearing, the City shall be prohibited
from proceeding with the vacation..
12.34.100. Hearing and Committee Report.
The hearing on the petition proposal shall be
held before the City Council, or a committee of the City
Council, upon the day fixed by resolution or at the time
to which a hearing may be adjourned. Following the
hearing, the committee shall report its recommendation on
the petition or proposal to the City Council, which may
adopt or reject the recommendation. If a hearing is held
before a committee, it shall not be necessary to hold a
hearing before the City Council.
12.34.110. City Council Decision.
Following the hearing and receipt of the
committee report, the City Council shall determine
whether to vacate the street or alley. The determination
shall include, but not be limited to, consideration of
the following criteria:
A. Whether a change of use or vacation of
the street or alley will better serve the public good;
B. Whether the street or alley is no longer
required for public use or public access;
C. Whether the substitution of a new and
different public way would be more useful to the public;
D. Whether conditions may so change in the
future as to provide a greater use or need than presently
exists; and
E. Whether objections to the proposed
vacation are made by owners of private property
(exclusive of petitioners) abutting the street or alley
or other governmental agencies or members of the general
public.
If the City Council determines to grant the
vacation, the action shall be made by ordinance in
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conformance with Section 12.34.130 and with such
conditions or limitations as the City Council deems
necessary and proper to preserve any desired public use
or benefit. The ordinance may contain a provision
retaining or requiring conveyance of easements for
construction, repair and maintenance of existing and
future utilities and services.
12.34.120. Vacation of Waterfront Streets.
A. The City is not authorized to vacate a
street or alley if any portion of the street or alley
abuts a body of salt or fresh water unless:
1. The vacation is sought to enable the
City to acquire the property for port purposes, beach or
water access purposes, boat moorage or launching sites,
park, public view, recreation, or educational purposes,
or other public uses;
2. The City Council, by resolution,
declares that the street or alley is not presently being
used as a street or alley and that the street or alley
is not suitable for any of the following purposes: port,
beach or water access, boat moorage, launching sites,
park, public view, recreation, or education; or
3. The vacation is sought to enable the
City to implement a plan, adopted by resolution or
ordinance, that provides comparable or improved public
access to the same shoreline area to which the street or
alley sought to be vacated abuts, had the properties
included in the plan not been vacated.
B. Before adopting an ordinance vacating a
street or alley under subsection A2 of this section, the
City Council shall:
1. Cause an inventory to be compiled of
all right-of-way within the City that abut the same body
of water that is abutted by the street or alley sought to
be vacated;
2. Cause a study to be conducted to
determine if the street or alley to be vacated is
unsuitable for use by the City for any of the following
purposes: port, boat moorage, launching sites, beach or
water access, park, public view, recreation, or
education;
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3. Hold a public hearing on the proposed
vacation in the manner required by RCW Chapter 35.79 and
this chapter; and
4. Include in its written decision a
finding that the street or alley sought to be vacated is
not suitable for any other purposes listed under
subsection B2 of this section, and that the vacation is
in the public interest.
C. Notice of the public hearing on the
proposed vacation shall be posted on the street or alley
sought to be vacated, and the notice shall indicate in
addition to the requirements of Section 12.34.080, that
the area is public access, that it is proposed to be
vacated, and that anyone objecting to the proposed
vacation should attend the public hearing or send a
letter to the Director of Public Works indicating the
objection.
D. Moneys received from the vacation may be
used by the City only for the purpose of acquiring
additional beach or water access, additional public view
sites to a body of water, or additional moorage or
launching sites.
12.34.130. Compensation for Vacation.
Prior to the passage of an ordinance vacating
any street or alley or any part thereof, the owners of
property abutting the area vacated shall pay to the City,
a total sum equal to the full appraised value of the area
vacated plus the full cost of physical closure and road
repairs as generated by the Director of Public Works.;
provided, that where the vacation was initiated by the
City or was required by the City as a condition of a
permit or approval, the owners of property abutting the
area vacated shall not be required to pay such sum.
Where the area vacated was acquired at public expense,
the owners of property abutting the area vacated shall
pay to the City a total sum equal to the full appraised
value of the area to be vacated.
Conveyance of other property acceptable to the
City may be made in lieu of the required payment, whether
required to mitigate adverse impacts of the vacation or
otherwise. When the conveyance is made for street
purposes, one-half of the fair market value of the land
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conveyed shall be credited to the required payment. When
the conveyance is made in fee for purposes other than
street purposes, the full appraised value of the land
conveyed shall be credited to the required payment.
When the value of the in -lieu parcel is less
than the required payment, the petitioners shall pay the
difference to the City. When the value of the in -lieu
parcel exceeds the required payment, the City shall pay
the difference to petitioners.
12.34.140. Appraisals.
The Director of Public Works is authorized to
obtain an appraisal from a state -certified real estate
appraiser who has an MAI or SRA designation from the
Appraisal Institute for any street or alley that is
recommended for vacation by the City Council. To obtain
such appraisals the Director of Public Works shall
present to the Representatives of the petitioners a list
of three such certified and designated appraisers from
which the representatives of the petitions shall select
one appraiser who will perform the appraisal. The
Director of Public Works is further authorized to obtain
an appraisal from a state -certified real estate
appraiser, who has an MAI or SRA designation from the
Appraisal Institute,of the fair market value of the
alternate right-of-way of land proposed to be granted or
dedicated to the City for street or alley purposes in
lieu of cash payment under Section 12.34.130; and in such
instance, the actual cost of the additional appraisal
shall be paid to the City. To obtain such appraisals,
the Director of Public Works shall present to the
representative of the petitioners a list of three such
certified an designated appraisers from which the
representative of the petitioners shall select one
appraiser who will perform the appraisal.
12.34.150. Payment of Compensation of Conveyance.
Upon securing an appraisal of the value of the
street or alley to be vacated, the Director of Public
Works shall notify the petitioner's representative of the
amount of compensation. The payment shall be delivered
to the Director of Public Works who, upon receipt of the
payment, shall transmit it to the City Treasurer for
deposit in the Street Fund and shall make a written
report of the payment to the City Council. If the
petitioner has been authorized to deliver an instrument
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granting or dedicating to the city a parcel or parcels of
land in lieu of cash payment, as contemplated by Section
12.34.130, the Director of Public Works, at the
petitioner's expense, may obtain either a policy of title
insurance insuring title of the property in the City, or
a certificate of title as to the title thereof, and upon
receipt of such policy or certificate,shall transmit to
the City Council.
12.34.160. Recording of Ordinance.
A certified copy of the ordinance vacating a
street or alley or part thereof, shall be recorded by the
City Clerk in the office of the Kitsap County auditor.
Section 2. This ordinance shall take effect and be in
force five days from and after its passage, approval,
publication and posting as required by law.
PASSED by the City Council this 5th day of December
, 1991.
APPROVED by the Mayor this 5th
, 1991.
day of December
Ralph W. Eells, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Rod P. Kaseguma, City Attorney
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: 9-12-91
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: 12-5-91
PUBLISHED: 12-11-91
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