Chapter 14.06
Right-of-Way Vacation
Sections:
14.06.030 Application requirements.
14.06.040 Application sequence.
14.06.050 Decisional criteria.
14.06.060 Conditions of approval.
14.06.090 Waiving compensation--Other governmental agencies.
14.06.100 Title to vacated streets or alleys.
14.06.110 Vesting rights not affected.
14.06.120 Expiration of right-of-way vacation applications.
14.06.010 General.
A right-of-way vacation is a process by which City rights-of-way may be vacated pursuant to Chapter 35.79 RCW. The process may be initiated by a property owner via petition or by the City via resolution. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).
14.06.020 Process.
A right-of-way vacation application is decided by the City Council pursuant to DMC 25.215.060 following a public hearing with the Planning Agency. The final decision may be appealed to the Pierce County Superior Court as allowed by Chapter 25.215 DMC, Article VI, Appeals. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).
14.06.030 Application requirements.
(a) The Planning Department shall establish, and may revise, submittal requirements in the form of a right-of-way vacation application. The application shall delineate specific submittal requirements and completeness criteria for right-of-way vacation applications. The application shall be available to the public. The submittal requirements of this chapter shall be used to determine whether an application for right-of-way vacation is complete.
(b) Submittal Requirements. An application shall be considered complete when it contains the following:
(1) Applicant’s name, address and phone number;
(2) Vacation petition sighed by an owner of real estate abutting the area requested to be vacated;
(3) Drawing prepared by a surveyor licensed in Washington State describing the requested area to be vacated;
(4) Current legal description of requested area to be vacated (within 30 days);
(5) Payment of all applicable filing fees. In the event of insufficient funds on the draft, the application shall be deemed null and void; and
(6) Proposed actions shall be consistent with the comprehensive plan and applicable development regulations.
(c) The City Planner may waive specific submittal requirements determined to be unnecessary for review of a specific right-of-way vacation application. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).
14.06.040 Application sequence.
(a) Right-of-way vacation applications shall be processed in accordance with DMC 25.215.060 with final decision by the City Council.
(b) If the right-of-way vacation petition is signed by the owner’s of more than two-thirds of the property abutting upon the part of the street requested to be vacated, the City Council shall, by resolution, fix the time when the petition will be heard and determined by the City Council. The hearing shall not be more than 60 days nor less than 20 days after the date of the passage of the resolution establishing the hearing date, as specified by RCW 35.79.010.
(c) Notice of the City Council public hearing shall be in accordance with RCW 35.79.020. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).
14.06.050 Decisional criteria.
All of the following decisional criteria must be met in order for the application to be granted:
(a) The proposed vacation is consistent with the goals and policies for street system, transportation as expressed in the DuPont comprehensive plan and generalized land use map;
(b) That the vacation will provide a public benefit, and/or will be for a public purpose;
(c) That the vacation shall not adversely affect the street pattern or circulation of the immediate area or the community as a whole;
(d) That the public need shall not be adversely affected;
(e) That the right-of-way is not contemplated or needed for future public use;
(f) That no abutting owner becomes landlocked or that their access will not be substantially impaired; i.e., there must be an alternative mode of ingress and egress, which is acceptable to the City; and
(g) That the vacation shall not be in violation of RCW 35.79.035. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).
14.06.060 Conditions of approval.
The City may condition the application in order to insure consistency with provisions of the above decisional criteria. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).
14.06.070 Easements.
The City may retain an easement or the right to exercise and grant easements within the vacated land for construction, repair and maintenance of public utilities and services. Any easement shall be recorded with Pierce County at the expense of the petitioner. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).
14.06.080 Compensation.
(a) The amount of compensation required to be paid to the City as a condition of approval shall be in an amount which does not exceed 50 percent of the appraised value of the area to be vacated except in the event the subject property was acquired at public expense. Under this scenario compensation shall be 100 percent of the appraised value of the area to be vacated. The appraisal shall take into account any retained right of the City for future use which would restrict the private use of the property. Compensation shall not be required for vacation of easements held by the City for which no public funds were expended in the acquisition.
(b) In lieu of payment for monetary compensation, the petitioners may propose to grant or dedicate to the City real property which has a fair market value equal to or greater than the appraised value of the property to be vacated. The City shall not be obligated to accept such an exchange and the decision of the City on the acceptance of the alternate property offered shall be final. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).
14.06.090 Waiving compensation--Other governmental agencies.
Where a vacation or transfer of public property is initiated by another governmental agency or jurisdiction, the City may waive any compensation required by this section and may also waive related filing fees, if the Mayor deems such a waiver to be in the public’s interest and advantage. A transfer or vacation of property in which compensation has been waived under this section shall be accompanied by a covenant providing that the City shall be compensated by the fair market value of the interest conveyed or vacated at the time of any future sale or lease of the subject property by said other governmental agency. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).
14.06.100 Title to vacated streets or alleys.
If any street or alley is vacated pursuant to this chapter, the property within the limits so created shall belong to the abutting property owners, one-half to each. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).
14.06.110 Vesting rights not affected.
No vested rights shall be affected by the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).
14.06.120 Expiration of right-of-way vacation applications.
(a) For right-of-way vacation, applications the Planning Department shall:
(1) Set an application expiration deadline of four months from the date of first notification that an application is incomplete pursuant to DMC 14.06.030, within which an applicant must submit the information necessary to make the application complete; and
(2) Set an application expiration deadline of four months for submitting each correction, study or additional information the City may request for evaluating a complete application, calculated from the date of each request.
(b) Failure to submit all requested material by the application expiration deadline shall cause the application to be considered abandoned.
(c) The applicant is responsible for monitoring the time limitations and reviewing deadlines for the application. The City shall not be responsible for maintaining a valid application. If the application expires, a new application may be filed with the City, but shall be subject to the development regulations in effect on the date the new application is complete by the City. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).
14.06.130 Severability.
If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this chapter or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected. (Ord. 98-617 § 1).