Chapter 19.10
VACATIONS OF STREETS AND ACCESS EASEMENTS
Sections:
19.10.030 Initiation of proceedings.
19.10.040 Petition for vacation brought by abutting property owners.
19.10.050 Council resolution for vacation.
19.10.060 Date of public hearing.
19.10.070 Vacations of streets and access easements – Public notification of hearing.
19.10.080 Objection by property owners.
19.10.090 Vacation of waterfront streets.
19.10.100 Vacation file content and availability.
19.10.110 Staff report preparation.
19.10.120 Public hearing procedures.
19.10.130 Criteria for granting or denying street vacation.
19.10.140 Right to reserve easements.
19.10.150 Voluntary agreement between city and applicant.
19.10.170 Appraisals and appraisal fees.
19.10.180 Compensation for vacation.
19.10.200 Title to vacated street or alley.
19.10.210 Vested rights not affected.
19.10.010 Purpose.
This chapter establishes the procedure and criteria that the city will use to decide upon vacation of streets, alleys, and other types of public easements relating to street, pedestrian or travel purposes. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.020 Applicability.
This chapter applies to requests for vacation of streets, alleys and public easements relating to street, pedestrian or travel purposes. This chapter shall not apply to vacation or termination of other types of public easements. As used in this chapter, the term “subject property” means the street, alley or public easement, or portions thereof, sought to be vacated. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.030 Initiation of proceedings.
A vacation may be initiated by:
(A) The city council; or
(B) The owners of more than two-thirds of the property abutting the part of the street or alley to be vacated, or, in the case of an easement, the owners of two-thirds of the property underlying the portion of the easement to be vacated. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.040 Petition for vacation brought by abutting property owners.
(A) The owners of an interest in any real estate abutting upon any street or alley, or underlying any public easement governed by this chapter, may petition the city council for vacation of the subject property.
(B) The applicant shall apply for a vacation by submitting the following:
(1) A vacation petition with supporting affidavits on forms provided by the city clerk;
(2) A legal description of the area to be vacated prepared by a licensed surveyor;
(3) For each petitioner a title report indicating ownership and providing a legal description of the property owned by the petitioner;
(4) The vacation application fee as established by resolution;
(5) A signed agreement to pay the cost of an appraisal as provided for in GFMC 19.10.170; and
(6) Any additional information or material that the city clerk determines is reasonably necessary for the city council to consider the requested vacation.
(C) The petition shall be filed with the city clerk, and the petition shall be signed by the owners of more than two-thirds of the property abutting on the street or alley (based on front footage), or underlying the public easement (based on square footage). [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.050 Council resolution for vacation.
The city council may initiate, by resolution, vacation procedures. The resolution shall contain a legal description and map of the subject property. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.060 Date of public hearing.
Upon receiving a complete application petition for vacation, or upon passage of a resolution by the city council seeking vacation, the city council shall, by resolution, fix a time when the city will hold a public hearing on the proposed vacation. The hearing will be not more than 60 days nor less than 20 days after the date of passage of the resolution scheduling the public hearing. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.070 Vacations of streets and access easements – Public notification of hearing.
(A) Content. The city clerk shall prepare a public notice containing the following information:
(1) A statement that a request to vacate the subject property will be considered by the city council;
(2) A statement of the time and place of the public hearing before the city council;
(3) A location description in nonlegal language along with a vicinity map that identifies the subject property proposed to be vacated;
(4) A statement that the vacation file is available for viewing at Granite Falls City Hall; and
(5) A statement of the right of any person to submit written comments to the city council prior to or at the public hearing and to appear before the city council at the hearing to give comments orally.
(B) Distribution of Notice of Hearing. At least 20 calendar days before the public hearing, the city clerk shall distribute the public notice as follows:
(1) A copy will be sent, by mail, to the owner of each piece of property within 300 feet of any boundary of the subject property;
(2) A copy will be sent, by mail, to each resident living immediately adjacent to or on the subject property;
(3) A copy will be published in the official newspaper of the city, except no vicinity map shall be required;
(4) Copies will be posted in the Granite Falls City Hall, Library and U.S. Post Office;
(5) A copy will be posted on the subject property in the manner set out in subsection (C)(3) of this section.
(C) Public Notice Sign. The applicant shall provide for and erect public notice signs at least 20 calendar days before the public hearing as follows:
(1) The sign shall be designed and constructed to city standards. A copy of the notice described in subsection (A) of this section and a vicinity map shall be attached to each sign.
(2) The city clerk is authorized to develop the standards for the public notice signs necessary for implementation of this section.
(3) One sign shall be erected on the subject property. The city clerk may require that additional signs be erected on or near the subject property and placed so that the signs are conspicuously visible from an improved public right-of-way not subject to the vacation request. The city clerk shall approve the location of each sign.
(4) All signs shall be removed within seven calendar days after the final public hearing. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.080 Objection by property owners.
If 50 percent or more of the abutting property owners file written objections to a city council initiated vacation with the city clerk prior to the time of hearing, then the city shall be prohibited from proceeding with the public hearing or granting the vacation. The calculation of the 50 percent threshold under this section shall be based on front footage, in the case of streets and alleys, and square footage of the easement area in the case of public easements. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.090 Vacation of waterfront streets.
(A) The city shall not vacate a street, alley or public easement governed by this chapter if any portion of the subject property abuts a body of fresh or salt water unless:
(1) The vacation is sought to enable the city to acquire the subject property for beach or waterfront 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 subject property is not presently being used as a street, alley or public easement and that the subject property 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 subject property abuts, had the subject property included in the plan not been vacated.
(B) Before adopting a resolution vacating subject property under subsection (A)(2) of this section, the city shall:
(1) Compile an inventory of all rights-of-way within the city that abut the same body of water that is abutted by the subject property;
(2) Conduct a study to determine if the subject property is suitable 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; and
(3) Make a finding that the subject property is not suitable for any of the purposes listed under subsection (A)(2) of this section, and that the vacation is in the public interest.
(C) No vacation under this section shall be effective until the fair market value has been paid for the subject property. Money received from the vacation may be used by the city only for acquiring additional beach or water access, acquiring additional public view sites to a body of water, or acquiring additional moorage or launching site. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.100 Vacation file content and availability.
The city clerk shall compile a vacation file that contains all information pertinent to the proposed vacation. This file shall be a public record. It shall be available for inspection and copying at the Granite Falls City Hall during regular business hours. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.110 Staff report preparation.
(A) Contents. The city clerk shall prepare a staff report containing the following information:
(1) All pertinent application materials submitted by the applicant;
(2) All comments regarding the vacation received by the city clerk prior to distribution of the staff report;
(3) An analysis of the requested vacation in relation to the provisions of this chapter and the applicable provisions of the comprehensive plan;
(4) A recent appraisal of the subject property obtained by the city at the applicant’s expense; and
(5) A recommendation on the vacation.
(B) Distribution. Prior to the hearing, the city clerk shall distribute the staff report to each member of the city council and each applicant. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.120 Public hearing procedures.
(A) The city council shall hold a public hearing on each requested vacation. The hearing shall be open to the public. The city council shall make a complete electronic sound recording of each hearing.
(B) The city council may continue the hearing if, for any reason, it is unable to hear all of the public comments on the vacation, or if the city council determines that it needs more information on the vacation. If, during the hearing, the city council announces the time and place of the next hearing on the vacation, no further notice of the hearing need be given.
(C) At the outset of the hearing, the city clerk shall provide an analysis of the requested vacation in relation to the provisions of this chapter and the applicable provisions of the comprehensive plan. The city clerk shall also make a recommendation on the requested vacation.
(D) Any interested person may participate in the public hearing in either or both of the following ways:
(1) By submitting written comments to the city council either by delivering the comments to the city clerk prior to the hearing or by giving the comments directly to the city council at the hearing; and
(2) By appearing in person, or through a representative, at the hearing and making oral comments directly to the city council. The city council may reasonably limit the extent of these oral comments to facilitate the orderly and timely conduct of the hearing. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.130 Criteria for granting or denying street vacation.
(A) The decision on a vacation application is a legislative determination. The city council may, in its discretion, vacate a street, alley or public easement governed by this chapter if it determines that vacation is in the public interest and that:
(1) The street, alley, or public easement is not currently used for public purposes, nor likely to be in the future; and
(2) No property will be denied all access as a result of the vacation.
(B) The city council reserves the right to deny a vacation request if public utilities or other infrastructure exists within the subject property.
(C) The city council may consider any other fact or issue it deems relevant when deciding whether to vacate a street, alley or public easement. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.140 Right to reserve easements.
In vacating a street, alley or public easement governed by this chapter, the city council may reserve for the city any easements or the right to exercise and grant any easements for the following purposes:
(A) Public utilities and services;
(B) Pedestrian trail purposes; and
(C) Any other type of easement relating to the city’s right to control, use and manage rights-of-way. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.150 Voluntary agreement between city and applicant.
At any time prior to the city council’s final decision on the vacation, the applicant may submit a voluntary agreement containing special terms that would apply to the vacation if the application is approved. The city clerk will advise the city council of the terms contained in the voluntary agreement. The city council may vacate a street, alley or easement pursuant to such an agreement, subject to the criteria in GFMC 19.10.130. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.160 Final decision.
(A) Following the public hearing, the city council shall, by motion approved by a majority of the entire membership in a roll call vote to either:
(1) Adopt an ordinance granting the vacation; or
(2) Adopt a motion denying the vacation; or
(3) Adopt a resolution of intent to vacate stating that the city council will, by ordinance, grant the vacation if the applicant meets specified conditions within 90 days, unless otherwise specified in the resolution.
(B) The city may require the following as conditions:
(1) Monetary compensation to be paid to the city in an amount of up to one-half the appraised value for the subject property; provided, that compensation may be required in an amount of up to the full appraised value of the subject property if either of the following applies to the street, alley or public easement:
(a) It has been part of a dedicated public right-of-way for 25 years or more; or
(b) The subject property or portions thereof were acquired at public expense;
(2) The grant of a substitute public right-of-way which has value as right-of-way at least equal to the subject property; or
(3) Any combination of subsections (B)(1) and (2) of this section; provided, that the total value of the combined conditions shall not total more than the maximum amount of monetary compensation allowed under subsection (B)(1) of this section.
(C) Within five working days of the city council’s decision, the city clerk shall mail a copy of the notice of decision to the applicants. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.170 Appraisals and appraisal fees.
The city clerk is authorized to obtain appraisals from qualified, independent appraisers as part of preparing staff reports on vacations. Applicants will pay the cost of such appraisals. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.180 Compensation for vacation.
(A) Where a vacation for a street or alley which does not abut a body of water has been initiated by petition, the owners of the property abutting the area to be vacated shall pay to the city prior to the passage of the ordinance vacating the area:
(1) One-half of the fair market value of the area to be vacated; or
(2) Full fair market value of the area to be vacated if area was acquired at public expense or has been part of a dedicated public right-of-way for 25 years or more.
(B) Where a vacation for a street or alley which does not abut a body of water has been initiated by the city or has been required by the city as a condition to a permit approval, the owners of the property abutting the area to be vacated shall not be required to pay compensation for the area to be vacated. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.190 Payment required.
Upon notification that the amount of required compensation has been established, the petitioner(s) shall have 60 days to deposit such amount, together with other costs of processing not previously paid, with the city clerk. Upon notification by the city clerk of the receipt of all sums due, the city council shall, in accordance with its prior motion of approval, adopt an ordinance vacating the street, alley, or public easement. All funds received as compensation pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in the city’s street fund or such other fund as the council may designate. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.200 Title to vacated street or alley.
Title to the subject property shall pass in accordance with Washington State statutory and common law governing title to vacated rights-of-way. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
19.10.210 Vested rights not affected.
No vested rights shall be affected by the provisions of this chapter. [Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016.]
[Ord. 905 § 1 (Att. A), 2016; Ord. 883 § 3 (Att. B), 2014.]