HomeMy WebLinkAbout6085ORDINANCE NO. 6 0 8 5
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF AUBURN, WASHINGTON, AMENDING CHAPTER
12.48 OF THE AUBURN CITY CODE RELATING TO
STREET (RIGHT-OF-WAY) VACATIONS
WHEREAS, a review of the current street (right-of-way) vacation process
revealed a need to clarify certain provisions of the code sections relating to street (right-
of-way) vacations.
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE ,CITY OF AUBURN,
WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN as follows:
Section 1. AMENDMENT TO CITY CODE. That Chapter 12.48, Street
Vacations, of the Auburn City Code be and the same hereby is amended to read as
follows:
Chapter 12.48
RIGHT-OF-WAY CT~RE~T-VACATIONS
Sections:
12.48.010 Definitions. .
12.48.015 Initiation of vacation process.
12.48.020 Petition -Signature sufficiency determinations.
12.48.030 Petition -Authorized.
12.48.040 Petition -Submission -Filing fee.
12.48.050 Petition -Investigation -Recommendations.
12.48.060 Petition -Notice of recommendations to petitioner.
12.48.070 Hearing -Required -Notice.
12.48.080 Hearing -Procedure -Vacation ordinance.
12.48.085 Campensation.
12.48.090 Petition denial or abandonment.
12.48.010 o~nY r ~f Nn in+eroc+ in ro%±~ o~+.,+a c+ofin~,~,Definitions.
1. "Owner of an interest in real estate" means and includes the
owner of fee title, mortgages and contract vendees.
2. "Petition" means for the purpases of this chapter, the collection
of papers necessary to initiate a street vacation, and shall include an
Ordinance No. 6085
March 1, 2007
Page 1
application in the form approved by the city and other submittals
consistent with the purposes of RCW 35.79.
3 "Right-of-way Vacations" shall have the same meaning as street
vacations including streets, roads alleys sidewalks, or any other publicly
owned rights-of-way cansistent herewith and as encompassed within
RCW 35.79. (Ord. 5212 § 1 (Exh. G), 1999; 1957 code § 8.24.010.)
12.48.015 Initiation of vacation process.
To initiate the str-ee~right-of-way vacation process, the owner shall
submit aright-of-way vacation application-letter to the cit t~clerk or city
engineer requesting to vacate " c~rnn~ ~r ~n~~~city owned right-of-way that
abuts the owner's #~k~property. Said fetter --application shall clearly
define the limits of the proposed vacation. ,
tThe city engineer or designee herein referred to as "the city", -shall
review the application and notify the applicant of
the additional ste s necessar to move forward with the ri ht-of-wa
vacation process and make a cam .Mete right-of-way vacation petition to
the city This notification will include an explanation of the process,
identification of otential casts to the a licant which ma include the
application fee survey costs title report, appraisal and the actual cost of
the right-of-way plus a list of required documents to be provided by the
applicant which may include a petition survey legal description, title
report and any other related documents the city deems necessary to
erform an accurate evaluation of the ri ht-of-wa vacation etition. a~
. _(Ord. 5212 § 1 (Exh. G), 1999.)
12.48.020 Petition -Signature sufficiency determinations.
For the purpose of determining sufficiencies of signatures of
owners of private property on a petition or consent to vacate, the following
rules shall govern:
A. Where the owners of private property abutting the ~¢~n~t-or
af4ey-~r--~pgrt+a~~her~afright-of-way proposed to be vacated are husband
and wife, the signature of either spouse, without the signature of the other,
will be sufficient.
B. In case of mortgaged property, the signature of the
mortgagor shall be sufficient.
C. In the case of property subject to a contract of purchase, the
signatures of both the contract vendors and vendees shall be required.
D. In the case of ownership by a corporation, the signature of
any officer authorized by the bylaws or resolutions of the board of
directors shall be sufficient when evidenced by an excerpt of said bylaws
or said resolution, certified by the secretary of the corporation, granting
such authority.
E. In the case of property owned by the estate of a decedent or
incompetent, the signature of the duly qualified administrator, executor or
Ordinance No. 6085
March 1, 2007
Page 2
guardian shall be equivalent to the signature of the owner of the property.
(Ord. 5212 § 1 (Exh. G), 1999; Ord. 2985 § 1, 1976; 1957 code §
8.24.020.)
12.48.030 Petition -Authorized.
The owners of an interest in any real estate abutting upon any
ctr®°+ nr °~~o,tright-of-way may petition the city council to vacate the right_
of-way in the manner provided in this
chapter. The petition shall describe the right-of-ways~~°~,--a;,'e~y--er
gnrt~nn +hnrn~ desired to be vacated, and shall be signed by owners of
more than two-thirds of the private property abutting the right-of-ways-ef
tie-sir sought to be vacated. (Ord. 5212 § 1 (Exh. G), 1999;
1957 code § 8.24.030.)
12.48.040 Petition -Submission -Filing fee.
As part of a complete right-of-waY„vacation petition as described in
12.48.015, the applicant shall submit to the city a non-refundable
application fee as set forth in the City of Auburn fee schedule. Incomplete
ri ht-of-wa vacation etitions not com feted b the a licant within six
months of a request by the city, shall be null and void.
~3 r~. ~'f~Pfi~t ~-ef~-t
. (Ord. 5212 § 1 (Exh. G), 1999; 1957
code § 8.24.040.)
12.48.050 Petition -Investigation -Recommendations.
Upon the receipt of ea-sh-a complete petition for processing as
provided in ACC 12.48.0410, the
a~eq~a~~-~ef-t~l~a~-pet~itian;city shall route the petition to city departments
and franchise utility companies for their comments, and make such further
investigation as may be necessary including requesting additional related
information from the petitioner(s)..
..~~~~ .,, ..,.~............~ .........,..,,..,,......~r.,............,. r............~...,y .,....._, .. _...J, ._ _.._
s~i~~-slerl~-#e~fi-(Ord. 5212 § 1 (Exh. G), 1999; 1957 code § 8.24.050.)
12.48.060 Petition -Notice of recommendations to petitioner.
- -ifs--+r~ve:~t~ee; -tThe lis
c~ shall ~~~let~prepare a staff report upon
completion of its assessment of the right-of-way vacation petition. A copy
of the staff report shall be forwarded to the petitioner, along with a letter
regarding any a ,changes made, er--conditions attached as
recommended by the city in respect to the vacation in question, and the
Ordinance No. 6085
March 1, 2007
Page 3
estimated schedule for the public hearing. (Ord. 5212 § 1 (Exh. G), 1999;
1957 code § 8.24.060.)
12.48.070 Hearing -Required -Notice.
Upon receipt of the ~et~t+e~a--staff report from the p+~~lie-~+re~l~s
naer}tc~,
~-^„o~ ;.,^ ^~ +"o n°+,+;^n, the city council shall pass a resolution calling for
a public hearing to consider the proposed vacation, which hearing shall be
not more than 60 days nor less than 20 days after the date of passage of
such resolution. The city clerk shall give 20 days' notice of the pendency
of the petition by written notice posted in three of the most public places in
the city, and a like notice in a conspicuous place on the right-of-wa~,street
e~~a~lley-sought to be vacated. The notice shall contain a statement that a
petition has been filed to vacate the °+r°°+ ^r ~"°.~right-of-way described in
the notice, together with a statement of the time and place fixed for the
hearing thereon.
In all cases where the proceeding is initiated by resolution of the
city without a petition having been signed by the owners of more than two-
thirds of the property abutting upon the ~^~f-#-f~e~---stre°+~--~~r-~;'
seright-of-way to be vacated, in addition to the notice hereinabove
required, 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
~r-~ll~~-er-ar~y--pert--tl~er~fr~ht~of-way sought to be vacated, as shown on
the rolls of the county treasurer, directed to the address thereon shown. If
50 percent of abutting property owners file written objection to the
proposed vacation with the clerk prior to the time of hearing, the city shall
be prohibited from proceeding with the resolution. (Ord. 5212 § 1 (Exh. G),
1999; 1957 code § 8.24.070.)
12.48.080 Hearing -Procedure -Vacation ordinance.
At the time appointed for the hearing of the right-of-way vacation
petition, or at such time as the hearing may be adjourned to by the city
council, the same shall be heard, and if the council determines to grant the
petition, or any part thereof, the council shall authorize by ordinance the
vacation of such skreet~-~r-~~Iteyright-of-way, or any portion thereof. Such
ordinance may provide for the retention by the city of all easements or
rights in respect to the vacated land for the construction, repair and
maintenance of public utilities and services; provided, that the city council
may, if no vested rights are impaired, modify, change, omit or add
provisions or stipulations as a condition to the granting of petitions for
vacations. When the city council deems it to the best interest of the city, it
may waive all or any part of the additional costs and
Ordinance No. 6085
March 1, 2007
Page 4
expenses provided for in this chapter +fl-with respect to any vacation;
provided, that all conditions with respect to such vacation shall be fulfilled
as~~terr~i~ed-#y-t~ to the satisfaction of the Gcity prior to
the time of the introduction of an ordinance vacating a sheet-e~r~ey-er
~erti•er}~-there fright-of-way, or all such conditions with respect to such
vacation shall be fulfilled as specified in said ordinance prior to the
ordinance becoming effective. Upon final passage of a ~+rna+ „r ~iie„right_
of-way vacation ordinance, copies shall be distributed by the city clerk to
all city departments having an interest in the ordinance. aa+d-erd+~~naflse
(Ord. 5212 § 1 (Exh. G), 1999; Ord. 3617 § 2, 1981.)
12.48.085 Compensation
The city council mawrequire as a condition of the ordinance that the
city be compensated for the vacated right-of-way in an amount which does
not exceed one-half the value of the right-of-way so vacated, except in the
event the subject property or portions thereof were acquired at public
expense or have been part of a dedicated public right-of-way for twenty-
five years or more, compensation may be required in an amount equal to
the full value of the ri ht-of-wa bein vacated. The cit en ineer shall
estimate the value of the right-of-way to be vacated based on the
assessed values of comparable properties in the vicinity. If the value of the
right-of-way is determined by the city engineer to be $2,000 ar less, the
applicant will not be required to provide the city with a formal appraisal. if
the value of the ri ht-of-wa is determined b the cit en ineer to be
greater than $2,000, fihe applicant will be required to provide the city with
an appraise( by an MAI appraiser approved by the city engineer, at the
expense of the applicant. The city reserves the right to have a second
appraisal performed at the city's expense.
12.48.090 Petition denial or abandonment.
The right-of-way vacation petition shall be considered abandoned if
the vacation conditions have not been met includin a meat of
compensation, within the time period identified in the ordinance, or if no
such time period is identified, within 180 days of approval of the
ordinance. The city may extend this deadline if they determine the
petitioner has made a good faith effort to meet the conditions.
Ordinance No. 6085
March 1, 2007
Page 5
In the event that the city council, at the conclusion of the public
hearing thereon, denies the requested right-of-wadvacation petition, or
that such vacation proceedings should be abandoned by the petitioner,
the petitioner shall be relieved from the obligation to fulfill conditions of the
ordinance
b~k~-peti#~er~er--as~-pfev+ ,
. -The phis
v+~s-depa~tme~tc~ shall notify the interested city departments if a
vacation proceeding is abandoned by the petitioner prior to the city council
hearing on the petition. If a vacation petition is disapproved by the city
council or abandoned by the petitioner after the council hearing, such
notification shall be given by the city clerk. (Ord. 5212 § 1 (Exh. G), 1999;
1957 code § 8.24.090.)
Section 2. ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY. The Mayor is hereby authorized
to implement such administrative procedures as may be necessary to carry out the
directives of this legislation.
Section 3. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this Ordinance or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the
Ordinance or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances shall not
be affected.
Section 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force
five (5) days from and after its passage and publication as required by law.
MAR 1 9 207
INTRODUCED:
PASSED:
APPF3LIVED:
PETER~B. L
ATTEST:
s~
~~ 1
Danielle Daskam, City Clerk
9 2007
- -- `c
S, MAYOR
Ordinance No. 6085
March 1, 2007
Page 6
APP13cq\i/E[~~TO FORM;
iel B. Hel'~,_City
PUBLISHED: ~\~~ Z~--~ .u"''
Ordinance No. 6085
March 1, 2007
Page 7