[Amended 12-19-2022 by Ord. No. 258]
Proceedings for the vacation, discontinuance or abolishment
of any street, alley, public ground, or part thereof, may be initiated:
1) by the City Council as allowed by law; or 2) by the owners of more
than 2/3 of the property abutting the part of the street, alley or
public ground to be vacated, subject to the procedures as set forth
in this chapter.
The City of New Buffalo or owner of an interest in any real
estate abutting on any street, alley or public ground who may desire
to vacate said street, alley or public ground, or any part thereof,
shall petition the City Council for the vacation of said street, alley
or public ground, or any part thereof in the manner hereinafter provided
herein. Such petition shall be on such form as may be prescribed by
the City and shall be submitted with the following:
A. A "Vacation Petition" with supporting affidavits on forms provided
by the City Clerk signed by the owners of more than 2/3 of the property
abutting on the street, alley or public ground to be vacated;
B. A legal description of the area to be vacated prepared by a licensed
surveyor;
C. For each petitioner, a title report indicating ownership and providing
a legal description of the property owned by the petitioner;
D. Proof of payment of the Vacation Petition Application Fee as established by Section
18-41 (no fee if the City petitions);
E. Any additional information or material that the City Manager determines
is reasonably necessary prior to its consideration of the requested
vacation.
Upon receipt of the required application materials, the City Clerk shall distribute copies of said materials to each member of the City Planning Commission for preparation of the Planning Commission Report defined in Section
18-43.
The party proposing, recommending or petitioning for the vacation,
discontinuance or abolishment of any street, alley, public ground
or part thereof shall pay to the City Treasurer a fee as from time
to time set by the City Council. Until all fees have been paid in
full, no action shall be taken on the petition or application. Under
no condition shall such fee or any part thereof be refunded for failure
of such vacation, discontinuance or abolishment to be approved by
the City Council.
Upon receiving a qualifying petition and fees, the Planning
Commission shall appoint a time, not less than four weeks thereafter,
when they will meet and hear objections thereto; notice of such meeting
with a copy of said resolution shall be published for not less than
four weeks before the time appointed for such meeting, in one of the
newspapers of the City. In addition, the City Clerk shall mail a notice
of the meeting, including a copy of the resolution, to the respective
owners of all property abutting upon any land directly affected by
this proposed action. This notice shall be sent by first class mail
to the addresses of the owners as shown on the last assessment roll,
at least 14 days in advance of the date set for the hearing. In addition
to the date, time and location of the meeting described herein, the
notice published and mailed as required herein shall include the following:
A. A statement that a request to vacate the subject property will be
considered by the City;
B. A statement of the time and place of the public hearing before the
City;
C. A location description in non-legal language along with a vicinity
map that identifies the subject property proposed to be vacated;
D. A statement that the vacation file is available for viewing at New
Buffalo City Hall; and
E. A statement of the right of any person to submit written comments
to the City prior to or at the public hearing and to appear before
the City at the hearing to give comments orally.
The City Planning Commission is authorized to obtain appraisals from qualified, independent appraisers as part of preparing the Planning Commission Report on the requested vacation as defined in Section
18-46. Applicants are responsible for the cost of such appraisals. Payment for said appraisal must be made prior to the City taking any action on the vacation application.
After receiving a report from the City Planning Commission, the City Council shall hold a public hearing and follow the same procedure for notice as set forth in Section
18-42.
In addition to the Planning Commission's public hearing,
A. The City Council shall hold a public hearing on each requested vacation.
The hearing shall be open to the public.
B. At the outset of the hearing, the Chair of the City Planning Commission shall provide a Planning Commission Report prepared pursuant to Section
18-44; said report shall contain the recommendation of the Planning Commission on the requested vacation.
C. 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.
If any such objection shall be filed, the street, alley or public
ground or any part thereof, shall not be vacated or discontinued,
except by a concurring vote of four members of the City Council.
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:
(1) public utilities and services; (2) pedestrian trail or sidewalk
purposes; and/or (3) any other type of easement relating to the City's
right to control, use and manage rights-of-way.
At any time prior to the City Council's final decision on the
vacation, the applicant and City Planning Commission may enter into
a voluntary agreement containing special terms that would apply to
the vacation if the application is approved. The Planning Commission
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 such agreement.
Title to the subject property shall pass in accordance with
the laws of the State of Michigan governing title to vacated rights-of-way.
The City Clerk shall compile a Vacation Petition File for each
petition that contains all information pertinent to the proposed vacation.
This file shall be a public record. It shall be available for inspection
and copying in the City Hall offices of the City of New Buffalo during
regular business hours.