Sebastopol Municipal Code Ch. 12.08 Street and Highway Plan

The purpose of this chapter is to protect the master street and highway plan adopted by the City of Sebastopol, California, said street and highway plan being adopted in order to:

A. Serve as a general guide for the development of streets and highways.

B. Promote the public welfare, safety and convenience.

C. Provide a comprehensive guide for capital outlay on streets and highway improvements in said City.

D. Provide an authentic source of information for residents and investors in the City.

E. To obviate the menace to the public safety and the damage to property values resulting from inadequate provision of traffic thoroughfares.

Official plan lines (i.e., future width lines) shall be designated on maps drawn up by the City Engineer at the request of the City Council or at the request of the Planning Commission acting through the City Council.

The official plan line maps shall show all property divisions and buildings adjacent to the project at a scale of one inch equals 50 feet and they shall show the existing and proposed right-of-way widths as well as a cross-section of the proposed street. The maps shall be titled “Official Plan Lines of (name of street or highway).” There shall be statements of adoption for affirmation by the Planning Commission and the City Council on each map.

The City Engineer is hereby instructed to make and keep up to date an index map which will show the streets or portions of streets upon which official plan lines have been established.

The City Clerk is hereby directed to record all duly attested official plan line maps adopted under the provisions of this chapter in the office of the County Recorder.

A. Action by Planning Commission. In order to adopt an official plan line map, the Planning Commission shall be in receipt of said map from the City Engineer, he having been directed by the City Council to prepare the same, and shall hold at least two public hearings thereon. Notice of these hearings shall be given in a newspaper of general circulation in the City at least 10 days in advance of the first of these hearings. The Planning Commission shall submit its findings in writing to the City Council.

B. Action by City Council. Upon receipt of the report from the Planning Commission, the City Council shall set a date for at least one public hearing and give public notice of said hearing as prescribed by law. At such time as the hearing is concluded by the City Council, they may adopt the official plan line map as an amendment to subsection C of this section, or resubmit the map to the Planning Commission for further study.

C. Official Plan Line Maps Part of Chapter. Official plan line maps and all the notations thereon are hereby made a part of this chapter at the time of their adoption by the City Council and said maps constitute the subsections under this section of this chapter.

D. The official plan line map of Wilton Avenue and all notations thereon are hereby made a part of this chapter and said map is hereby adopted. Said map delineates the setback line for Wilton Avenue in said City, which said setback line is more particularly described as follows: “Being a strip of land 10 feet in width lying adjacent to and southerly of the southerly line of Wilton Avenue between North Main Street and Morris Avenue in the City of Sebastopol.”

The southerly line of Wilton Avenue is more particularly described as being at a point on the westerly line of North Main Street at the southeast corner of the parcel of land conveyed by Hobson to the City of Sebastopol, described in the deed recorded in Book 436 of Official Records at page 454, Sonoma County Records, thence S 63°18'W 289.0 feet; thence curving to the left with a radius of 70 feet for a distance of 27.14 feet; thence S 41° 05'W 9.8 feet to the easterly line of Morris Avenue which point is the northwest corner of the land of J.L. Garsee as described in the deed recorded in Book I 106 of Official Records at page 115.

No building or structure shall hereafter be erected or placed within the official plan lines of streets or highways established by SMC 12.08.040 except as provided for under SMC 12.08.060.

A. The City Council, upon receipt of a recommendation from the Planning Commission of the City of Sebastopol, California, shall hear and decide appeals for variances in the strict application of SMC 12.08.050.

B. Action by Appellant.

1. The owner of any property affected by established official plan lines may appeal the strict interpretation of SMC 12.08.050.

2. Said appeal should be made in writing to the City Planning Commission.

C. Action by Planning Commission. Upon receipt of an appeal the Planning Commission shall set a date for at least one public hearing and publish notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation in the City at least 10 days in advance of said public hearing. At the conclusion of said public hearing the Planning Commission shall make its recommendations by resolution in writing to the City Council.

In order to make a recommendation contrary to the provisions stated in SMC 12.08.050, the Planning Commission must find:

1. That the property of which the official plan line is a part is of such nature that the owner of the land will be substantially damaged by the refusal to grant the variance.

2. That the property will not earn a fair return on the owner’s investment unless the construction involved is authorized.

3. That the granting of the application is necessary for the preservation of substantial property rights of the individual.

D. Action by the City Council. Upon receipt of said report from the Planning Commission or upon expiration of 60 days from the time the applicant filed his appeal with the Planning Commission, the City Council shall set a date for a public hearing thereon with notices as required by law. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the City Council may grant the applicant a variance from the provisions of SMC 12.08.050.

In order to grant a variance contrary to said section, the City Council must find:

1. That the property of which the official plan line is a part is of such nature that the owner of the land will be substantially damaged by the refusal to grant the variance.

2. That the property will not earn a fair return on the owner’s investment unless the construction is authorized.

3. That the granting of the application is necessary for the preservation of substantial property rights of the individual.

This chapter shall be known and cited as the “Street and Highway Ordinance of the City of Sebastopol.”

The City Clerk of the City of Sebastopol is hereby directed to cause the ordinance codified in this chapter to be published once in the Sebastopol Times, a legal newspaper of general circulation printed and published in the City of Sebastopol and hereby designated for that purpose.