Chapter 12.95
RIGHT-OF-WAY VACATIONS
Sections:
12.95.040 Initiation of proceedings.
12.95.050 Petition for vacation.
12.95.060 Council resolution for vacation.
12.95.070 Date of public hearing.
12.95.080 Public notification of hearing.
12.95.090 Objection by property owners.
12.95.100 Public hearing procedures.
12.95.110 Criteria for granting street vacation.
12.95.120 Limitations on vacations.
12.95.130 Right to reserve easements.
12.95.140 Final decision of vacation.
12.95.170 Title to vacated street or alley.
12.95.180 Vested rights not affected.
12.95.190 City use of revenue.
12.95.010 Purpose.
This chapter establishes the procedures and criteria that the City will use to decide upon vacation of roads, alleys, or any part thereof. This chapter is intended to implement the authority granted to the City pursuant to Chapter 35.79 RCW and RCW 35A.47.020. In case of a conflict between this chapter and those statutes, the statutory provisions shall prevail. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.020 Definitions
“Subject right-of-way” means the road or alley, or portions thereof, sought to be vacated. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.030 Applicability.
This chapter applies to requests for the vacation of roads, alleys and public easements relating to said roads or alleys, or any part thereof. This chapter shall not apply to vacation or termination of other types of public easements. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.040 Initiation of proceedings.
A vacation may be initiated by the city council or by abutting property owners pursuant to RCW 35.79.010. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.050 Petition for vacation.
The owners of an interest in any real estate abutting upon any road or alley who may desire to vacate the street or alley, or any part thereof, may petition the city council. The petition shall be in a form prescribed by the city engineer and shall contain the following information:
A. Upon receiving a petition signed by owners of more than 67 percent of the property abutting upon the part of such street or alley sought to be vacated, petitioners shall submit a complete vacation application to the City. A vacation application shall contain the name, address, email and telephone number of a representative for the petitioners, with supporting documentation from each petitioner on forms provided by the department. The 67 percent threshold shall be determined per KMC 12.95.090;
B. A legal description of the area to be vacated prepared by a licensed surveyor in the state of Washington;
C. Site map showing all property lines and the subject right-of-way highlighted, scaled as required by the department;
D. Verification of ownership and providing a legal description of the property owned by each petitioner;
E. A copy of the King County assessor’s map identifying all property owners and parcel ID numbers;
F. A completed request for public utility review;
G. The vacation application fee as established by resolution;
H. An appraisal of each abutting property of the subject property prepared by a WSDOT approved appraiser;
I. A signed agreement to pay the cost of an appraisal review as provided for in KMC 12.95.170;
J. The petition shall discuss the criteria set forth in KMC 12.95.110; and
K. Any additional information or material that the department determines is reasonably necessary for the city council to consider the requested vacation. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.060 Council resolution for vacation.
The city council may initiate, by resolution, vacation procedures. The resolution shall contain a legal description of the subject right-of-way and shall be filed with the city clerk. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.070 Date of public hearing.
Upon receiving a petition signed by owners of more than two-thirds of the property abutting upon the part of such street or alley sought to be vacated and a complete application, the city council by resolution shall fix a time and date when the city council will hold a public hearing on the proposed vacation. If vacation is initiated by the city council, the resolution initiating the vacation shall fix a time and date on when the city council will hold a public hearing on the vacation. The hearing shall not be more than 60 days nor less than 20 days after the date of passage of such resolution. The two-thirds measure shall be determined pursuant to KMC 12.95.090. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.080 Public notification of hearing.
A. The City shall prepare a public notice containing the following information:
1. A statement that a petition to vacate the subject right-of-way has been filed with the City and will be considered by the city council or that the city council has initiated a street vacation of the subject right-of-way;
2. A statement of the time and place of the public hearing before the city council;
3. A location description in non-legal language along with a vicinity map that identifies the subject right-of-way proposed to be vacated.
B. At least 20 calendar days before the public hearing, the City shall distribute the public notice as follows:
1. In all cases where the proceeding is initiated by resolution of the city council, in addition to the notice required herein, there shall be given by mail at least 15 days before the date fixed for the hearing, a similar notice to the owners or reputed owners of all lots, tracts or parcels of land or other property abutting upon any street or alley or any part thereof sought to be vacated, as shown on the rolls of the county treasurer, directed to the address thereon shown.
2. A copy will be published in the official newspaper of the City, except no vicinity map shall be required;
3. Posted in a conspicuous location at the three most public places within the City;
4. A copy will be posted on the subject right-of-way in the manner set out in subsection C of this section.
C. Public Notice Sign. The city clerk shall provide for and have public notice signs posted at least 20 calendar days before the public hearing as follows:
1. The posted notice shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the administrative procedures developed by the department. A copy of the public notice described in subsection A of this section and the vicinity map shall be attached to each sign.
2. One posted notice shall be located at each public access location and placed so that the sign(s) are conspicuously visible from an improved public right-of-way not subject to the vacation request. The department shall approve the location of each sign.
3. All posted notices shall be removed after the final public hearing. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.090 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 the public hearing, then the City shall be prohibited from proceeding with the vacation. The calculation of each abutted property’s percentage shall be based on the following:
A. Roads and alleys: the total length of each individual property linear footage abutting the subject right-of-way over the total perimeter length of the subject right-of-way.
B. Public easements: the square footage of the subject right-of-way on each individual property over the total area of the subject right-of-way. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.100 Public hearing procedures.
A. The city council shall hold a public hearing on each street vacation pursuant to KMC 12.95.070 and 12.95.080.
B. The city council may continue the hearing if the city council determines that it needs more information on the vacation. If, during the hearing, the city council continues the hearing to a specific time and place on the vacation, no further notice of the hearing need be given.
C. The department shall provide an analysis of the requested vacation in relation to the provisions of this chapter and the applicable provisions of the comprehensive plan with 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 by delivering the comments to the city clerk as noted in the public notice prior to the hearing; and
2. By appearing in person, or through a representative, at the hearing and making oral comments directly to the city council. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.110 Criteria for granting street vacation.
A. The decision on a vacation application is a legislative determination. The city council may, at its discretion, vacate a road or alley or part thereof if it determines that vacation is in the public interest and that:
1. The subject right-of-way is not currently necessary for travel or other road purposes, nor likely to be in the future;
2. The vacation request takes into account existing facilities and other uses into consideration per KMC 12.95.130; and
3. No property is denied access to the public right-of-way as a result of the vacation.
B. The city council may consider any other fact or issue it deems relevant when deciding whether to vacate a road or alley.
C. If the city council determines to grant the petition or any part thereof, the City shall be authorized to vacate such street, or alley, or any part thereof, and the ordinance may provide that it shall not become effective until the owners of property abutting upon the street or alley, or part thereof so vacated, shall compensate the City in an amount which does not exceed one-half the appraised value of the subject right-of-way. If the street or alley has been part of a dedicated public right-of-way for 25 years or more, or if the subject property or portions thereof were acquired at public expense, the City may require the owners of the property abutting the street or alley to compensate the City in an amount that does not exceed the full appraised value of the area vacated. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.120 Limitations on vacations.
Vacations of roads abutting bodies of water shall be limited and follow the procedures set forth in RCW 35.79.035. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.130 Right to reserve easements.
In vacating a road or alley governed by this chapter, the city council may retain an easement or the right to exercise and grant any easements in respect to the vacated land for construction, repair, and maintenance of public facilities and services. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.140 Final decision of vacation.
A. Following the public hearing, the city council shall either:
1. Adopt an ordinance granting the vacation, subject to conditions the city council deems necessary; or
2. Adopt a motion denying the vacation.
B. The ordinance may be conditioned as follows:
1. Receipt of monetary compensation pursuant to RCW 35.79.030 and KMC 12.95.170.
2. Receipt of utility easements, if any, per KMC 12.95.130.
3. Other conditions deemed appropriate by the city council.
C. Within 14 calendar days of the city council’s approval of the ordinance or from the date all conditions of the ordinance are met, whichever comes later, the ordinance shall be recorded by the city clerk in the office of the auditor of the county in which the vacated land is located. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.150 Appraisal reviews.
The city manager is authorized to obtain appraisals from qualified, independent appraisal reviewers as part of the application review. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.160 Fees and costs.
The city manager is authorized to collect fees for the following:
A. Application Fee. The cost for reviewing, noticing, and preparing documentation for city council review shall be paid by the applicant. Fees shall be as determined by the city council by resolution;
B. Appraisal Review Cost. The cost for an appraisal review shall be paid by the applicant. Cost shall be the direct invoice cost for the appraisal review;
C. Subject Right-of-Way Cost. The cost for the subject right-of-way shall be the full appraised value of the subject right-of-way area as determined by the City’s appraisal reviewer, the calculation for each abutting property owner based upon percentage calculations pursuant to KMC 12.95.090. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.170 Title to vacated street or alley.
Title of subject right-of-way shall be pursuant to RCW 35.79.040. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.180 Vested rights not affected.
No vested rights shall be affected by the provisions of this chapter. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]
12.95.190 City use of revenue.
One-half of the revenue received by the City as compensation for the vacated right-of-way must be dedicated to the acquisition, improvement, development, or related maintenance of public open space or transportation capital projects within the City. [Ord. 23-0578 § 2 (Exh. 1).]