The purpose of this chapter is to establish procedures, notice requirements and fees for the vacation of streets and alleys within the city. This chapter is intended to implement the authority granted to the city by Chapter 35.79 RCW and RCW 35A.47.020 and to conform to their provisions. In case of conflict between this chapter and those statutes, the statutory provisions shall be controlling.
(Ord. 69 § 1, 1995)
The owners of an interest in any real property abutting upon any street or alley who may desire to vacate the street or alley, or any part thereof, may petition the city council. In the alternative, the city council may itself initiate a vacation by resolution. The petition or resolution shall be filed with the city clerk.
(Ord. 69 § 2, 1995)
The petition shall be in a form prescribed by the director of community development and shall contain a name, address and telephone number of a representative for the petitioners. The petition shall also discuss the criteria set forth in NMC § 12.50.110. The sufficiency of the petition shall be governed by RCW 35A.01.040.
(Ord. 69 § 3, 1995)
Every petition for the vacation of any street or alley, or any part thereof, shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount established by resolution of the city to defray the administrative costs incurred in processing the petition and publishing, posting and mailing notices, plus any consulting costs incurred by the city during the review process. The fee shall not be refunded under any circumstances.
(Ord. 69 § 4, 1995)
A. 
Every petition shall be accompanied by:
1. 
A survey;
2. 
A vicinity map showing the general area of the proposed vacation;
3. 
A plat map prepared and sealed by a professional land surveyor, registered in the state of Washington, indicating the specific parcels abutting the proposed street or alley to be vacated; and
4. 
An exact legal description of the portion of road to be vacated prepared and sealed by a professional land surveyor, registered in the state of Washington.
B. 
Flagging which indicates the boundaries of the street or alley shall be installed when the survey is conducted.
(Ord. 69 § 5, 1995)
Upon receipt of the petition, the fee and all required documents, the city clerk shall forward the petition and required documents, to the director of community development, or the director's designee, who shall determine whether the petition has been signed by the owners of more than two-thirds of the property abutting the part of the street or alley to be vacated. If the petition has been signed by the required percentage of such owners, the director, or the director's designee, shall bring the petition before the city council within 30 days of receipt of the petition, and the city council shall, by resolution, fix a time when the petition will be heard and determined by the city council, or committee of the city council, which time shall be not more than 60 days nor less than 20 days after the date of adoption of the resolution. Where the city council initiates the vacation by resolution, that resolution shall fix a time when the proposed vacation will be heard by the city council or a committee of the city council.
(Ord. 69 § 6, 1995)
The community development department shall prepare a report concerning the proposed vacation, which report shall address the criteria (see NMC § 12.50.110) to be considered by the city council in determining whether to vacate the street or alley, and such other information as deemed appropriate by the department. In preparing the report, the department shall solicit comments from the police department and the parks and trails committee, and may solicit comments from other governmental agencies and utility companies having jurisdiction or utilities within the boundaries of the city. The report shall be submitted to the city council, or the city council committee hearing the matter, and to the representative of the petitioners, not less than five days before the hearing.
(Ord. 69 § 7, 1995)
Upon the passage of the resolution fixing the time for hearing the petition or proposal for vacation, the city clerk shall give not less than 20 days' notice of the date, time, place and purpose of the hearing by: (1) publishing written notice once in the city's official newspaper; (2) posting a placard in three of the most conspicuous places in the city; (3) posting a placard at each end of the street or alley sought to be vacated; and (4) mailing written notice to all petitioners at the address on the petition; provided, that in all cases where the vacation 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 the street or alley sought to be vacated, the city clerk shall mail, at least 15 days prior to the date of the hearing, a similar notice to all owners or reputed owners of all property abutting the street or alley proposed to be vacated, as shown on the rolls of the King County treasurer. The community development director shall send the same written notice to the representative of the petitioners at the address on the petition. The placards required herein shall be highly visible and at least 11 by 14 inches in size and shall include a map showing the location of the street or alley proposed to be vacated.
All notices required pursuant to this section shall contain a statement that a petition has been filed to vacate the street or alley described in the notice, and shall also contain the date, time and place of the hearing on the petition.
(Ord. 69 § 8, 1995; Ord. 2002-255 § 1)
If 50 percent or more of the owners of the abutting property file written objections to a city council initiated vacation with the city clerk, prior to the time of the hearing, the city shall be prohibited from proceeding with the vacation.
(Ord. 69 § 9, 1995)
The hearing on the petition proposal shall be held before the city council, or a committee of the city council, upon the day fixed by resolution or at the time to which a hearing may be adjourned. Following the hearing, the committee shall report its recommendation on the petition or proposal to the city council, which may adopt or reject the recommendation. If a hearing is held before a committee, it shall not be necessary to hold a hearing before the city council.
(Ord. 69 § 10, 1995)
Following the hearing and receipt of committee report, if applicable, the city council shall determine whether to vacate the street or alley. The determination shall include, but not be limited to, consideration of the following criteria:
A. 
Whether a change of use or vacation of the street or alley will better serve the public good;
B. 
Whether the street or alley is no longer required for public use or public access;
C. 
Whether the substitution of a new and different public way would be more useful to the public;
D. 
Whether conditions may so change in the future as to provide a greater use or need than presently exists; and
E. 
Whether objections to the proposed vacation are made by owners of private property (exclusive of petitioners) abutting the street or alley or other governmental agencies or members of the general public. If the city council determines to grant the vacation, the action shall be made by ordinance in conformance with NMC § 12.50.120 and with such conditions or limitations as the city council deems necessary and proper to preserve any desired public use or benefit. The ordinance may contain a provision retaining or requiring conveyance of easements for construction, repair and maintenance of existing and future utilities and services.
(Ord. 69 § 11, 1995)
A. 
Where a vacation of a street or alley 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, a sum equal to one-half the appraised value of the area vacated, plus the full cost of physical closure and road development; provided, that if the road or alley to be vacated has been part of a dedicated public right-of-way for 25 years or more, the owners of the property abutting the area to be vacated shall pay to the city a sum equal to the full appraised value of the area vacated, plus the full cost of physical closure and road development.
B. 
Where a vacation of a street or alley has been initiated by the city or is required by the city as a condition of a permit or approval, the owners of property abutting the area vacated shall not be required to pay the compensation required by subsection (A) of this section.
C. 
One-half of the compensation received by the city for the vacated area shall be dedicated to the acquisition, improvement, development, and related maintenance of public open space or transportation capital projects within the city. The other half shall be deposited into the street fund.
D. 
Conveyance of other property acceptable to the city may be made in lieu of the required payment, whether required to mitigate adverse impacts of the vacation or otherwise. When the conveyance is made for street purposes, one-half of the fair market value of the property conveyed shall be credited to the required payment for the vacated area. When the conveyance is made for purposes other than street purposes, the full appraised value of the property conveyed shall be credited to the required payment.
E. 
When the value of the in-lieu property is less than the required payment, the petitioners shall pay the difference to the city. When the value of the in-lieu property exceeds the required payment, the city shall pay the difference to the petitioners.
(Ord. 69 § 12, 1995; Ord. 2002-255 § 2)
A. 
The director of community development shall determine the appraised value of the area vacated based on an appraisal from a state-certified real estate appraiser who has an MAI or SRA designation from the appraisal institute. To obtain such appraisal, the director shall present to the representatives of the petitioners a list of three such certified and designated appraisers from which the representatives of the petitioners shall select one appraiser. The petitioner shall pay for the appraisal. If the director is not satisfied with the appraisal, the director may order a second appraisal from a state-certified real estate appraiser who has an MAI or SRA designation from the appraisal institute. The city shall pay for the second appraisal.
B. 
The director shall use the appraisal having the highest value for the area vacated. The director of community development shall determine the fair market value or full appraisal value of the real property proposed to be granted or dedicated to the city in lieu of cash payment under NMC § 12.50.120 in accordance with the appraisal procedure in subsection (A) of this section.
(Ord. 69 § 13, 1995)
After determining the appraisal of the value of the street or alley to be vacated pursuant to NMC § 12.50.130, the director of community development shall notify the representatives of the petitioners of the amount of the required compensation. The payment shall be delivered to the director who, upon receipt of the payment, shall transmit it to the city finance department for deposit into the appropriate fund and/or account and shall make a written report of the payment to the city council. The city finance department shall deposit one-half of the compensation into an account dedicated to the acquisition, improvement, development and related maintenance of public open space or transportation capital projects within the city, and shall deposit the other half into the street fund.
If the petitioner has been authorized to deliver an instrument granting or dedicating to the city a parcel or parcels of land in lieu of cash payment, as provided in NMC § 12.50.120, the director, at the petitioner's expense, may obtain either a policy of title insurance insuring title to the property in the city, or a certificate of title as to the title thereof, and upon receipt of such policy or certificate, shall transmit it to the city council.
(Ord. 69 § 14, 1995; Ord. 2002-255 § 3)
A certified copy of the ordinance vacating a street or alley or part thereof shall be recorded by the city clerk in the office of the King County auditor.
(Ord. 69 § 15, 1995)