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(A) Dead trees, low limbs, or branches in the right-of-way will be cut by the county maintenance personnel and equipment, as well as weeds, grass, or brush that limit sight distance on county-maintained roads.
(B) All limbs, branches, and other obstructions that hang over or into a county-maintained road will be cut to ensure safety and sight regardless of ownership of right-of-way. The county will only cut or trim what is necessary to ensure the safety of the traveling public.
(Ord. 124, passed 9-17-1991; Am. Ord. passed 2-5-1997; Am. Ord. passed 11-5-1997; Am. Ord. passed 1-5-2000; Am. Ord. 07-17-09, passed 11-19-2009)
PETITIONING PROCEDURES FOR ROAD PAVING
(A) The property owner initiating a paving request is responsible for securing rights-of-way/ easements from all affected property owners. County staff’s role in the right-of-way/easement acquisition process is limited to the following items:
(1) Providing petitioners with official petition documents;
(2) Generating property owner name and address information (as available through the County Tax Assessor's property records);
(3) Staking approximate right-of-way for initial review by affected property owners;
(4) Commissioning property surveys to finalize right-of-way dimensions and location; and
(5) Assisting in the preparation/execution of required right-of-way/easement documents.
(B) The granting of right-of-way by property owners for county road paving projects is voluntary, and requires unanimous agreement among the affected property owners (a mere majority will not suffice).
(1) The county will condemn easements/ rights-of-way only to address safety issues identified by Public Works.
(2) In such cases, the county will condemn only the minimum property necessary to address the safety issues, not enough to accommodate a wholesale improvement of the roadway.
(Ord. 03-05-09, passed 4-5-2009)
(A) Submission of request by property owner to county staff.
(1) Any affected property owner, i.e., anyone who owns property adjoining an unpaved county road, may obtain from the County Administrator's office a Request for Road Paving Consideration form (“request form").
(2) Once completed by the petitioning property owner, this form is forwarded to the Public Works Director, who verifies that the road is a county road and determines whether the requested road improvements require a right-of-way of 40 feet (for cul-de-sacs), 50 feet (for through roads), or more, based on topography, sight lines, road layout, safety conditions, and other criteria.
(3) Outfall ditches and drainage easements may also be required.
(4) The Public Works Director amends the request form with this information and arranges for the staking of the approximate right-of-way dimensions for initial review by affected property owners.
(B) Return of request form by county staff to property owner.
(1) Staff returns the request form, as amended under division (A)(4) immediately above, to the petitioning property owner.
(2) Staff supplies the petitioning property owner with a list of all affected property owners and their contact information, consisting only of mailing addresses, as shown in public records of the County Tax Assessor, and an official petition form (Petition of Intent to Grant Right of Way form) to be used for indicating the intent of affected property owners to grant the necessary rights-of-way/easements for the project.
(C) Securing required signatures.
(1) The petitioning property owner is responsible for establishing the unanimous intent of all affected property owners to grant the required right-of-way (as staked by Public Works for initial review) by having them properly sign the Petition of Intent to Grant Right of Way form.
(2) No county road will be paved or otherwise significantly improved (other than regular scraping and the amending of an existing gravel base, where needed) unless the Petition of Intent to Grant Right of Way is signed by all affected property owners and the subsequent rights-of-way/easements are obtained and recorded.
(3) There must be only one original petition circulated for signatures, which must be bound or stapled.
(4) In order to guard against the making of copies, each page attached shall show “Page of " (where the first blank represents the number of the current page; the second, the total number of pages in the petition).
(5) Required signatures may only be from affected property owners and must include all owners of each affected parcel, no matter how slight the owner's interest, as shown on the deed recorded at the office of the Clerk of Court for Newberry County.
(D) Legal right-of-way/easement documentation.
(1) The County Attorney prepares the easement forms to be properly executed by affected property owners granting the necessary rights-of-way/ easements.
(2) The petitioning property owner is responsible for coordinating/scheduling this work with the County Attorney.
(3) Once unanimous consent granting all necessary rights-of-way/easements is executed and recorded, the easement/right-of-way documents and the county-commissioned survey/plat of the road are filed in the office of the Clerk of Court for Newberry County.
(4) The Public Works Director, County Attorney, and County Administrator then certify to the CTC (County Transportation Committee) and to County Council that the appropriate right-of-way is established.
(5) If the petition omits any signature of any affected property owner, it is returned to the petitioning property owner for completion.
(Ord. 03-05-09, passed 4-5-2009)
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