(A) Disposition of unnecessary public roadway. Upon recommendation from the public works director, the Council may dispose of unnecessary public roadway either by trade, sale, vacation, exchange, abandonment or extinguishment in accordance with state law;
(B) Allocation of vacated roadway. The following shall be the order and method for determining allocation of vacated property.
(1) In the event that the width of a roadway is to be vacated, the order of obtaining the right to title shall be:
(a) First, the owner of the land abutting the vacated roadway to the same extent that the land included within the roadway, at the time the roadway was acquired for public use, was a part of the subdivided land or was part of the adjacent land;
(b) Second, owners on the opposite side of the roadway from the owner in subsection (l)(a) above, for any or all the portion not desired by the subsection (l)(a) owner; and
(c) Third, the person making to the council the best offer, provided that the offer meets at least the minimum requirements as established by the council.
(2) In the event that less than the entire width is vacated, title to the vacated portion shall vest in the owners of the land where and to the degree the land is abutting the vacated portion.
(3) In the event that a roadway bounded by straight lines is vacated, title to the vacated roadway shall vest in the owners of the abutting land, each abutting owner taking to the center of the roadway, except as provided in subsection (B)(1) and (2) above. In the event that the boundary lines of abutting lands do not intersect the roadways at a right angle, the land included within the roadway shall vest as provided in subsection (B)(4) below,
(4) In all instances not specifically provided for, title to the vacated roadway shall vest in the owners of the abutting land, each abutting owner taking that portion of the vacated roadway to which his land, or any part thereof, is nearest in proximity.
(C) Access to public road. No roadway shall be vacated so as to leave any land adjoining the roadway without an established public road connecting the lands with another public roadway.
(D) Reservation of easements. Right-of-way easements for any one or all of existing sewer, gas, water or similar pipelines and appurtenances and for canals, laterals or ditches and appurtenances and for electric, telephone and similar lines and appurtenances shall continue as they existed prior to the disposal or abandonment of the public roadway.
(E) Resolution of disposition; effective when recorded.
(1) A council resolution disposing of a roadway or portion thereof or applying such roadway to another public use shall describe the roadway and set forth its disposition or use.
(2) The resolution shall take effect when it is recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county within Which the roadway or portion thereof is located.
(F) Extinguishment of easements. If the city owns no title to a roadway but holds right-of-way easements, only the easements may be extinguished by resolution of the council.
(G) Abandonment of roadways or right-of-way easements; application and filing; generally. Any person desiring to have any roadway abandoned or right-of-way easement extinguished, shall make application for the same on forms approved by and filed with the department of public works. In addition to the application and associated fees, the applicant shall submit a complete, current title report showing the nature of the easement or right-of-way interest or other ownership interest, including but not limited to any and all existing liens, mortgages or other encumbrances. If deemed essential by the city engineer, an appraisal to determine the value of the targeted property, or the estimated value of the property proposed for exchange, shall be obtained by the city engineer at the applicant’s sole expense.
(H) Roadway abandonment and right-of-way easement extinguishments; application and filing processing fee. A non-refundable application fee, as established in A.J.C.C., Vol. I, Chapter 4, Fees, must be submitted with any application for abandonment of roadways or right-of-way easement extinguishments. A nonrefundable application fee will be assessed to the benefiting property owner to provide for city administrative costs except that the fee shall be lower where the benefiting property consists solely of developed residential property. However, no fee shall be charged when the application for abandonment is initiated by the city.
(I) Abandonment of roadways and extinguishment of right-of-way easements; required reports,
(1) Upon application for abandonment of roadways or right-of-way easements to the public works director, the Director shall submit copies of the application, and all appropriate attachments thereto, to the director of development services, the director of public safety and the city engineer.
(2) The public works director shall also submit copies of the application and all attachments to all public utility providers, who shall have up to 60 calendar days to comment on the roadway abandonment or right-of-way extinguishment.
(3) No abandonment or extinguishment may be finalized by council unless recommendations from all utility providers have been solicited and such providers either had no objection or otherwise failed to respond after at least two documented attempts to contact were ignored.
(Ord. 1424, passed 6-19-2016)