10.50.017E Vacation procedure.
(a) Setting of Hearing. Upon receipt of the petition, the administrative official shall determine whether the petition has been signed by two-thirds of the property owners abutting the right-of-way to be vacated. The two-thirds shall be determined by the linear frontage of property abutting the area of the proposed vacation. If the petition has been signed by the requisite percentage of such owners, the administrative official shall bring the petition before the city council, and the city council shall by resolution fix the time when the petition will be heard by the hearing examiner, which time shall not be more than sixty days nor less than twenty days after the adoption of the resolution. Where the city council initiates the vacation by resolution, that resolution shall fix the time when the proposed vacation will be heard by the hearing examiner. The hearing examiner will compose a recommendation and forward it to the city council for final decision.
(b) Staff Report. The administrative official or their designee shall prepare a report concerning the proposed vacation for the hearing in front of the hearing examiner. The staff report shall evaluate the advisability of the proposed vacation based on comments from all city divisions and departments and/or submitted application materials. The report shall address the criteria to be considered in determining whether to vacate the public right-of-way, and such other information as deemed appropriate by the administrative official. In preparing the report, the administrative official shall solicit comments from the police department and the fire department. The administrative official 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 hearing examiner and to the petitioner and his or her representative not less than seven calendar days before the hearing.
(c) Notice of Hearing. Upon the passage of the resolution fixing the time for hearing the request for vacation, the city clerk, or the administrative official, acting under direction and supervision of the city clerk, shall give not less than twenty days' notice of the time, place and purpose of the hearing by:
(1) Posting a written notice in three public places in the city, one of which shall be City Hall;
(2) Publishing written notice once in the city's official newspaper;
(3) Posting a minimum twenty-four-inch by thirty-six-inch notice sign in a conspicuous place at each end of the public right-of-way sought to be vacated describing the proposed vacation and the date, time and location of the public hearing; and
(4) Mailing written notice to all petitioners at the addresses on the petition and all owners of property abutting the public right-of-way proposed to be vacated, as shown on the records of the Yakima County assessor, not to exceed ninety calendar days prior to the date of the public hearing. The administrative official shall send the same written notice to the representative of the petitioners at the address on the petition and any interested parties listed in the title reports provided by petitioners, if applicable.
(A) The written public notice shall include a statement indicating, "The City Council shall decide whether or not to vacate the street or right-of-way. The hearing examiner will conduct the required public hearing and make a recommendation to the City Council. Any party wishing to be informed of the time, date, and place of the City Council meeting for the proposed vacation should submit a written request to the City of Selah Planning Department, or sign the parties of record form at the public hearing."
(d) Protest. If fifty percent of the abutting property owners file written objection to a city council-initiated vacation with the city clerk prior to the time of hearing, the city shall be prohibited from proceeding with the resolution and vacation. The fifty percent ownership shall be measured in linear footage of property abutting the area of the proposed right-of-way vacation. (Ord. 2173, § 2 (Exh. A), 2022.)