Merced County Municipal Code Ch. 13.06 Procedures for Termination of Maintenance of County Highways And…

Note: Prior ordinance history: Ord. 1049.

The board of supervisors has been granted authority to:

A. Approve the termination of maintenance of county highways by Section 954.5 of the Streets and Highways Code of the State of California; and

B. Vacate all or part of a street, highway, or public service easement by Section 8312 of the Streets and Highways Code of the State of California.

(Ord. 1632 § 1, 1999)

The purpose of this chapter is to establish procedures by which the county shall process requests for termination of maintenance of county highways and/or vacation of public streets, highways, and service easements.

(Ord. 1632 § 1, 1999)

As used in this chapter:

"County highway"

means, for the purpose of termination of maintenance, any public highway, road, street, avenue, alley, lane, drive, way, place, court, trail or any other facility that may be construed to conform to the definition contained in Section 960.5 of the Streets and Highways Code of the state of California.

"Impassable"

means the physical condition of the county highway in which a typical automobile cannot traverse a roadway without the potential of becoming stuck or incapacitated. The presence of a gate across a roadway shall not be construed as creating an impassable condition.

"Public service easement"

means, for the purpose of vacation, any right-of-way, easement, or dedication for sewers, pipelines, polelines, electrical transmission and communication lines, pathways, storm drains, drainage canal, water transmission lines, light and air, and other limited use public easements that may be construed to conform to the definition contained in Section 8306 of the Streets and Highways Code of the state of California.

"Road division"

means the road division of the Merced County department of public works.

"S & H code"

means the most recent edition of the Streets and Highways Code of the state of California.

"Street" and/or "highway"

means, for the purpose of vacation, all or part of any right in a public highway, road, street, avenue, alley, lane, driveway, place, court, trail, or other public right-of-way or easement that may be construed to conform to the definition contained in Section 8308 of the S & H Code.

"Vacation"

means the complete or partial abandonment or termination of the public right to use a street, highway, or public service easement as defined in Section 8309 of the S & H Code.

(Ord. 1632 § 1, 1999)

A. Applications for termination of maintenance of a county highway shall be made with the road division. Incomplete applications will not be accepted for processing. A complete application shall include the payment of the appropriate processing fee as established according to law, and a complete description of the area proposed for termination of maintenance.

B. The road division will refer the termination of maintenance application to the planning and community development department for an evaluation of consistency with the Merced County general plan.

C. A public hearing before the board of supervisors shall be held pursuant to the requirements of Section 954.5 of the S & H Code. The road division shall mail a notice of the public hearing to the owners of any property served by that portion of the county highway subject to the termination of maintenance.

D.

1. After the public hearing has been closed, the board of supervisors shall determine whether the county highway may be deemed to be unnecessary for the public convenience on the basis of any of the following criteria:

a. The county highway does not provide the primary access to occupied properties;

b. Traffic on the county highway is intermittent and of low volume; or

c. The county highway is impassable for more than six months and there is no demand that it be reopened.

2. If such a determination can be made and the board determines that a termination of maintenance is appropriate, the board shall adopt a resolution terminating maintenance. A certified copy of the resolution shall be recorded as provided in Section 8325 of the S & H Code.

E. Subsequent to the approval of a termination of maintenance, the road division shall post signs conforming to the requirements of Section 954.5(e) of the S & H Code notifying the public that the highway is no longer maintained by the county. Signs shall be maintained for a period of one year.

F. After approval of the termination of maintenance, a notice of exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) shall be filed by the road division with the county clerk.

G. If the board of supervisors resumes maintenance of a county highway on which maintenance was terminated, a notice of maintenance shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder.

(Ord. 1632 § 1, 1999)

A. The S & H Code provides for two methods for the vacation of public streets, highways and service easements.

1. Sections 8320 through 8325 establish general vacation procedures. General vacation procedures are very rigorous and can be followed for any proposed vacation.

2. Sections 8330 through 8336 establish summary vacation procedures. Summary vacation procedures do not require a public hearing and are much simpler to complete. However, summary vacation procedures can only be used for the vacation of a street, highway or public service easement that satisfies very specific criteria.

B. Because of the amount of work involved, the fees for processing a summary vacation are significantly less than those required for processing a general vacation. Before accepting an application, the road division will make a determination concerning the appropriate vacation procedures that must be followed. In order to make a determination, the prospective applicant will be required to supply general information about the proposed vacation. A field review of the site may be required.

(Ord. 1632 § 1, 1999)

The basic procedures that must be followed when processing a summary vacation are outlined in Sections 8335 through 8336 of the S & H Code. The specific procedures for processing a summary vacation are as follows:

A. Applications for summary vacations shall be made with the road division. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. A complete application shall include the payment of the appropriate processing fee as established according to law, and a complete description of the facility proposed for vacation.

B. The road division shall conduct an investigation to gather any information that may be necessary to formulate a recommendation to the board of supervisors concerning the proposed vacation.

C. The road division will refer the summary vacation application to the planning and community development department for an evaluation of consistency with the Merced County General Plan.

D. The road division shall prepare a resolution of vacation conforming to Section 8335 of the S & H Code for consideration by the board of supervisors at a forthcoming regularly scheduled meeting.

E. If the summary vacation is approved by the board of supervisors, a certified copy of the resolution of vacation shall be recorded pursuant to the requirements of Section 8336 of the S & H Code. Upon recordation, the vacation is complete.

F. After approval of the summary vacation, a notice of exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) shall be filed by the road division with the county clerk.

(Ord. 1632 § 1, 1999)

The basic procedures that must be followed when processing a general vacation are outlined in Sections 8320 through 8325 of the S & H Code. The specific procedures for processing a general vacation are as follows:

A. Applications for general vacations shall be made with the road division. The application shall include a petition conforming to Section 8321 of the S & H Code, a completed environmental information form, and the payment of the appropriate processing fee as established according to law by the board of supervisors. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

B. The road division will refer the general vacation application to the planning and community development department for:

1. An evaluation of consistency with the Merced County general plan; and

2. A recommendation concerning the appropriate documentation for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

C. The applicant shall be responsible for the preparation of whatever studies and documentation that may be necessary to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

D. Pursuant to Section 8320 of the S & H Code, the road division, as representatives of the board of supervisors, shall coordinate with the clerk of the board of supervisors to initiate general vacation proceedings and to set the date, hour, and place of the hearing by the board of supervisors to consider any such proposed vacations. In addition, the road division shall prepare notices of vacation.

E. The road division will cause the notice of the hearing of the proposed vacation to be published pursuant to Section 8322 of the S & H Code.

F. The road division, as representatives of the board of supervisors, shall post notices of vacation pursuant to Section 8323 of the S & H Code.

G. The clerk of the board of supervisors shall mail a notice of vacation to each of the individuals that signed the petition that was submitted as part of the application materials pursuant to Section 8321(e) of the S & H Code.

H. The board of supervisors shall hold a public hearing to hear evidence offered by interested persons.

I. At the beginning of the public hearing, the department of public works or the planning and community development department, depending on which department conducted the environmental review, shall present the environmental portion of the board report if a negative declaration or environmental impact report has been prepared.

J. Pursuant to Section 8324(b) of the S & H Code, if the board of supervisors finds that the street, highway, or public service easement is unnecessary for present or prospective public use, the board may adopt a resolution vacating the street, highway, or public service easement.

K. A certified copy of the resolution of vacation shall be recorded as provided in Section 8325 of the S & H Code. Upon such recordation, the vacation is complete.

(Ord. 1632 § 1, 1999)

Section 15300.4 of the Administrative Code of the State of California allows public agencies, in the course of establishing its own procedures, to list those specific activities which fall within an exempt class. As a result of this provision, the following findings are made:

A. A termination of maintenance of a county highway shall be considered to fall within CEQA Exempt Class 1 as described in Section 15301(c) of the Administrative Code of the State of California. A termination of maintenance can be considered to involve the minor alteration of existing public facilities. Except for the installation of a notification sign, no physical changes to the county highway will be made. Over time, the condition of the county highway may deteriorate and revert to a more natural state. At any time, the board of supervisors may choose to resume maintenance of the county highway. The termination of maintenance of a county highway does not have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.

B. Summary Vacations shall be considered to fall within Exempt Class 1 as described in Section 15301(c) of the Administrative Code of the State of California. A summary vacation can be considered to involve the minor alteration of existing public facilities. No physical alterations to land will be made as a result of the approval of a summary vacation. Sections 8330 through 8334.5 of the S & H Code detail the types of facilities that may be summarily vacated. The summary vacation of any of these described facilities does not have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.

(Ord. 1632 § 1, 1999)

A. The fees to be levied for the various processes covered in this chapter shall be as follows:

1. Termination of maintenance: $500.00.

2. Summary vacation: $500.00.

3. General vacation: $800.00.

B. The aforementioned fees do not include costs associated with CEQA compliance requiring a negative declaration or an environmental impact report (EIR). Additional fees will be required if it is determined that a negative declaration or EIR is necessary.

(Ord. 1632 § 1, 1999)