Title
Amending Chapter 130 of the Legislative Code, Procedure for Vacating Streets and Other Public Grounds.
Body
SECTION 1
WHEREAS, the Real Estate Section of the Office of Financial Services is responsible for administering proceedings for the vacation of streets and public ways; and
WHEREAS, the Real Estate Section has conducted a review of Chapter 130 of the Legislative Code pertaining to the vacation of City right of way; and
WHEREAS, said review has identified provisions in need of clarification and updating, with the aim of simplifying and improving the City’s vacation policies and procedures for the benefit of elected officials, City administrative staff, and property owners; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Saint Paul does hereby ordain:
SECTION 2
Chapter 130.01 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code is hereby amended as follows:
Section 130.01. - Definitions. For the purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions apply:
The word “street,” as used in this chapter, shall be construed to mean public grounds, public streets, alleys and highways in the City of Saint Paul.
Abutting: Real property touching, reaching, joining, bordering on, or contiguous with city property in the City of Saint Paul.
Affected property owners: Property owners whose properties either abut the street requested to be vacated or do not abut the street, but whose access to or use of such properties may be impaired, altered, or inconvenienced by the vacation of the street.
Facilities: Sewer, water, gas, electric, communication mains, pipes, conduits, wires, poles, towers, and other related public and private utility transmission equipment.
Real estate office: The Real Estate Section of the City’s Office of Financial Services.
Street: Public streets and highways, alleys, walkways, right-of-way, or parts thereof in the City of Saint Paul, whether established by plat, direct conveyance, or condemnation, and whether opened and improved or unimproved.
Utilities: Legal entities that operate facilities within city right of way, including the City of Saint Paul, the Board of Water Commissioners of the City of Saint Paul, and private utility companies that operate within city right of way pursuant to franchise agreements with the city.
SECTION 3
Chapter 130.02 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code is hereby amended as follows:
Sec. 130.02. - Procedure for initiating proceedings.
(a) The council of the City of Saint Paul shall have the exclusive power to vacate public streets or portions thereof within the city. Vacation proceedings may be initiated in the following manner:
(1) Where the City of Saint Paul city owns fee title to all or any portion of the property sought to be vacated, any member of the city council or the mayor may submit a written petition therefore;
(2) By written petition of the a majority of the owners of the property on the line of properties abutting such street or portion thereof sought requested to be vacated;
(3) The city council may by resolution waive the requirement for the petition by a majority of owners for a petition of properties abutting the street or portion thereof requested to be vacated if the city council shall determine that a hardship exists thereof, and in such case a petition may be submitted by any number of owners of property on the line of abutting such street or portion thereof sought to be vacated.
(b) All petitions shall bring forth describe the facts and reasons for such vacation, accompanied by a plat and a survey or detailed drawing of such street or streets proposed to be vacated. Petitions shall be addressed to the council of the City of Saint Paul and filed with the city clerk.
SECTION 4
Chapter 130.03 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code is hereby amended as follows:
Sec. 130.03. - Verified petitions and filing expense.
All petitions filed by owners as provided above shall be verified by the oath of one of the petitioners that the petition was signed by each of the parties described party identified in the petition and in presence of the affiant. Such petitions must be approved by the real estate section of the office of financial services as to form sufficiency before submission to the council. The real estate section of the office of financial services shall certify determine that the petition is signed by the requisite number of petitioners and that such petitioners are the owners of the property abutting upon the street or portion thereof sought requested to be vacated. For the purpose of verifying titles and ownership, abstracts of each petition shall include an ownership and encumbrance report prepared by a title certified company, or a deed including current ownership of real property abutting the street if there is only one abutting owner to the date of petition or street requested to any time thereafter shall be submitted with the petition vacated. At the time of filing such petitions the owners petitioning therefor petition, the petitioner shall pay to the city clerk one hundred dollars ($100.00) as the filing fee therefor and coverage. Upon competition of the vacation process, as evidenced by council approval of the city’s vacation resolution and the city’s receipt of a certificate of completion in accordance with Sec. 130.07 of this chapter, the petitioner shall pay the city’s publication, filing, and other procedural administrative costs connected therewith, as determined and administered by the real estate office.
SECTION 5
Chapter 130.04 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code is hereby amended as follows:
130.04. - Public hearing.
(a) The real estate section of the office of financial services shall contact all affected city departments, agencies utilities, and other units of government that may have an interest in the street being considered for vacation for the purpose of submitting to the council a report resolution with recommendations terms and conditions concerning the vacation and the present or future needs and uses of the street under consideration. This report requested to be vacated. The resolution shall be returned submitted to the city council within sixty (60) days following the date of the request real estate office’s approval of the sufficiency of the vacation petition unless the council shall grant an extension of, or the petitioner and the real estate office mutually agree to extend, the time thereof. Upon receipt of the report and recommendation resolution, the council shall fix a date for public hearing to consider the petition and afford an opportunity to all affected property owners to be heard. The city clerk real estate office shall cause notice of the hearing to be published once in the official newspaper of the city, and mailed notice thereof shall be given by the real estate section of the office of financial services to all affected property owners of land abutting on the street proposed to be vacated. Published notice and mailed notice shall be made at least twenty (20) days in advance of the public hearing.
(b) The council, at the public hearing or adjournment thereof, shall consider the petition and may, by resolution adopted by an affirmative vote of at least five (5) of its members, vacate and declare such street or portion thereof vacated and discontinued. The council may condition any vacation upon terms and conditions and such compensation being paid to the city as shall be set forth in its resolution. No vacation of any street shall be allowed become effective except upon the petitioner’s compliance with all such terms and conditions as may be established by the city council in the resolution, as verified by the real estate office.
SECTION 6
Chapter 130.05 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code is hereby amended as follows:
Sec. 130.05. - Terms and conditions of vacation.
All vacations of streets made by the council shall be made upon and subject to the following terms and conditions:
(1) The council shall specify in the vacation resolution that any claim by any utility, city department, or other unit of government to access, construct, reconstruct, install, or repair, replace, relocate, maintain, or operate its facilities or exercise any property rights that such entities may possess within the street being vacated, is released and terminated except upon satisfaction of one of the following conditions:
(a) The entity has provided written evidence to the real estate office of its desire to reserve its property rights, regardless of whether the entity, if a utility, has existing facilities within the street being vacated; or
(b) The entity has not provided written evidence to the real estate office of its desire to reserve its property rights, but the real estate office has determined that the entity, if a utility, has existing facilities within the street being vacated; or
(c) The entity has an active franchise agreement with the City.
(2) (1) The petitioner shall pay into the treasury of said the city such sum of money as may be fixed by the council in the vacation resolution as compensation to the city for such vacation, and in addition thereto, for the cost of the vacation proceedings; provided, however, that compensation shall not be required if the city is the petitioner as provided for in Section 130.02(a)(1).
(3) (2) The petitioners, or some of them, petitioner shall file with agree to language in the city clerk a bond or undertaking and/or file a written covenant resolution, as may be required and fixed by the council, in such form as may be approved by the city attorney, conditioned to indemnify and hold the city harmless from any and all damages, claims for damages, costs, charges, and expenses of every kind and nature arising or growing out of the vacation of the street described in the resolution. In The council may additionally require that the event petitioner file with the city clerk a bond or undertaking is required as provided herein, then no and/or file a written covenant, in such form as approved by the city attorney, to condition these requirements. No bond or undertaking shall be for a period in excess of six (6) years from the date of acceptance of the terms and conditions.
The city shall reserve and hereby does reserve for itself and to and for any persons or corporations having public instrumentalities in the vacated street the right to install, maintain and operate any sewer, water, gas or electric main, pipe or conduit, or any other public instrumentality in or upon the vacated street and to enter upon such street or any portion thereof at any time and from time to time for the purpose of reconstructing, inspecting, maintaining or repairing same. Provided, that the council resolution may specify that the street or portion thereof to be vacated is released from the claim of the city, for itself or on behalf of any other person or corporation, to any right or easement therein for the construction, reconstruction, repair, maintenance and operation of any of the aforesaid instrumentalities by the city council's findings in said resolution that no such public instrumentality is located within the street or portion thereof to be vacated, or if so located therein is voluntarily surrendered or abandoned by the city. Provided further, additional to all other authority and power hereby conferred upon such city council, that said city council shall be authorized and empowered to make special provision in any particular case for the reservation to said city, as an exception to the vacation of any public ground, public street, alley or highway, of a perpetual right or easement within the tract of land which shall embrace the vacation area for said city's construction, reconstruction, repair, maintenance and operation therein of public sewer, water, gas or electric mains, pipes, conduits or other public instrumentalities, despite the fact that no such public instrumentalities shall be located within such tract of land when the subject vacation shall be effected.
(4) If by virtue of such vacation, or if by subsequent grant, any street or part thereof shall become the property of any person or corporation legal entity paying a gross earnings tax in lieu of other taxes and assessments, such vacated street or portion thereof shall nevertheless be subject to assessments for any public or local improvements in common with other property deemed benefited thereby.
(5) Within sixty (60) days after the publication council adoption of any vacation resolution, the petitioner shall file with the city clerk an submit to the real estate office a signed acceptance in writing of the conditions of such resolution, and shall within the period(s) specified within the terms and conditions of such resolution comply in all respects with the terms and conditions therein. In case of failure to file submit such acceptance within sixty (60) days and to comply with such conditions set forth in said resolution, the resolution shall be ipso facto null and void; provided, however, that the council may, by resolution adopted by an affirmative vote of at least five (5) of its members prior to the expiration of said sixty day period, or prior to the expiration of the period(s) for compliance specified in such resolution, amend the vacation resolution so as to extend the time for compliance for an additional period real estate office may extend the time for compliance for no greater than an additional sixty (60) day period.
(6) The terms and conditions specified in this section shall be deemed to be part of every vacation resolution, and such resolution shall refer to this chapter by citation and set out the conditions. The imposition of the conditions herein specified shall not be construed to preclude the council from imposing such other and further conditions as it may deem advisable in particular cases.
SECTION 7
Chapter 130.06 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code is hereby amended as follows:
Sec. 130.06. - Waiver of retained easements.
(a) The terms and conditions specified in section 130.05 shall be deemed to be a part of every vacation resolution, and such resolution shall refer to this chapter by citation, but need not set out the conditions. The imposition of the conditions herein specified shall not be construed to preclude the council from imposing such other and further conditions as it may deem advisable in particular cases.
(a) The terms and conditions as specified and reserved in section 130.05(3) may be waived by subsequent resolution of the council of the City of Saint Paul, said resolution to be adopted and approved by no fewer than five (5) votes of the council members present and voting, and said resolution to recite therein that the City of Saint Paul, for itself and for on behalf of those persons entities and utilities for whom it has previously reserved easements, rights, and other claims in said vacated street property for the installation, maintenance and operation of any sewer, water, gas or electrical main, pipe or conduit of public instrumentality, and upon receipt in writing of certificates of intended nonuse of reserved rights, easements, and other claims by the affected city departments or public service corporations entities, shall, as to said vacation property, waive, terminate, and extinguish said retained rights, easements, and other claims., as adopted and approved by no fewer than five (5) votes of the council members present and voting.
SECTION 8
Chapter 130.07 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code is hereby amended as follows:
Sec. 130.07. - Certificate of completion.
Upon the petitioner’s written compliance with all of the terms and conditions of such the vacation resolution, the city clerk shall issue a certificate to the effect that as verified by the petitioners, or some of them, have complied with the terms and conditions of such resolution and that thereby real estate office, said resolution has shall become operative. The city clerk and the real estate office shall file a city clerk certified copy such certificate, together with a copy of the vacation of said resolution, with the office of the county recorder and/or registrar of titles of Ramsey County and shall notify all affected city departments the city’s department of public works of such filing.
SECTION 9
Chapter 130.08 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code is hereby amended as follows:
Sec. 130.08. - Rescission of resolutions-Failure to comply with conditions.
In the event the petitioner shall fails to comply with the conditions of the vacation resolution or to submit a signed written acceptance of the conditions of the resolution within the 60-day time period of time or extension thereof, as set forth therein, in Sec. 130.05 (5), the city clerk real estate office shall so notify the city council, and the council shall, by resolution, shall rescind its previous resolution vacating the street or portion thereof. Copies of said resolution shall be transmitted by the city clerk real estate office, to the petitioner, and to all affected city departments utilities.
SECTION 10
This Ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days following passage, approval, and publication.