909.02  PROCEDURE.
   (a)    The New Martinsville Planning Commission ("Commission"), upon the verified application of any landowner whose land abuts on any unused street, alley or other travel way designated on any map or plat of a subdivision of land or otherwise within the City, is hereby authorized to close and vacate or abandon any part or all of any such unused street, alley or other designated travel way by order of the Commission pursuant to notice and hearing as hereinafter provided. Prior to acting to close and/or vacate and/or abandon any such street, alley or other travel way, the Commission shall consider the application and fix a time and place for hearing thereon. Such hearing shall be held not less than fifteen days after the hearing date and place have been so fixed. The applicant shall cause notice of the time and place of such hearing and the purpose thereof to be published as a class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of section 59-1-34 of the Code of West Virginia, and the publication area for such publication shall be the City. The notice shall be published at least fifteen days before such hearing. The applicant shall also cause to be served, at least fifteen days before such hearing, by certified mail, return receipt requested, or in any other manner provided by law for the service of notices and process, a notice designating the time, place and purpose of such hearing upon every owner of property and every person holding a lien thereupon abutting such unused street, alley or other designated travel way. The affidavit of publication of such notice shall be filed with the City Recorder at or prior to the hearing herein provided and made a part of the record of the proceedings before the Commission.
   (b)    At the time and place fixed for such hearing, the Commission shall hear any evidence relating to the use of and rights or claims in or to any such street, alley or other designated travel way sought to be closed and vacated and/or abandoned, in accordance with the requirements of Section 909.03.  In the event the Commission concludes, and affirmatively finds upon the record, that the use and rights of no person in such street, alley or other designated travel way will be impaired or lost by the closing and vacation and/or abandonment thereof, the Commission shall, by majority vote thereof, proceed to enter an order closing and vacating and/or abandoning such street, alley or other designated travel way, which order shall not become final and effective until such time as the same is affirmatively approved by majority vote of Council pursuant to its review of the transcript and record of all proceedings had before the Commission. Council review herein provided shall be accomplished within thirty days from and after receipt of the transcript by the City Recorder. In the event Council shall determine that there exists in the record made before the Commission insufficient evidence to sustain the Commission's order, it shall cause an order to be entered invalidating the disposition order of the Commission, in which event the applicant may pursue the appellate remedies provided in Section 909.04.
   (c)    In the event the order of the Commission shall be sustained by Council pursuant to its review as aforesaid, the applicant shall cause a copy of the order of the Commission to be prepared and certified for entry of record in the office of the Clerk of the County Commission of Wetzel County, and the applicant shall pay the recording fee thereupon.
(12-5-83)