15.23.020 Policy.
(1) Property owners may request that existing private streets and/or utilities be considered for dedication to public ownership, using the following process:
(a) The request must come in the form of a private dedication petition, which must be signed by property owners representing one hundred percent (100%) of the total linear frontage of the street and one hundred percent (100%) of the ownership of the utility. In the case of a homeowners’ association (HOA), the petition must be signed by the board of trustees representing the owners or those with express authority to legally bind the HOA.
(b) By signing the petition, each petitioner agrees it is that petitioner’s intent to dedicate the street or utility that is the subject of the petition to public ownership.
(c) The petition shall set forth the reasons for the proposed dedication and explain how dedicating the street or utility is in the public interest.
(d) The City’s Public Works and Development Services departments will review the request and identify any deficiencies, including, but not limited to, ways in which the street or utilities do not satisfy the factors set forth in this Chapter and potential costs, liabilities, or logistical/maintenance/infrastructure problems the dedication may impose on the City if approved. If no deficiencies are identified, or all identified deficiencies have been corrected, the petition will be forwarded for final approval as provided in Subsection (1)(g) of this Section.
(e) The identified deficiencies will be communicated to the petitioners. Petitioners may choose to correct any or all of the identified deficiencies at their own expense prior to the Municipal Council review described in Subsection (1)(f) of this Section.
(i) No later than thirty (30) days after receiving the list of deficiencies from the Public Works and Development Services departments, petitioners must notify the City in writing whether petitioners elect to correct deficiencies or request the petition be forwarded to the Municipal Council for consideration of an appropriation.
(ii) If petitioners elect to correct deficiencies, they must notify the City in writing when the corrective work is complete. The Public Works and Development Services departments will then review the request again as set forth in Subsection (1)(d) of this Section.
(iii) The process set forth in Subsections (1)(d) and (1)(e) of this Section will repeat until no further deficiencies are identified or until petitioners elect to submit the deficiencies to the Municipal Council for review.
(f) Upon election by the petitioners, any deficiencies identified through the City’s review and uncorrected by the petitioners will be reviewed by the Municipal Council to consider appropriation of the estimated costs necessary to remedy the deficiencies. However, the Council may not appropriate money to correct deficiencies that this Chapter specifically states will not be paid for by the City. If all remaining deficiencies associated with a petition are of this type, the petition will not be sent to the Municipal Council for review and will be deemed rejected.
(i) If the Municipal Council does not authorize the appropriation, the petition shall be deemed rejected and the street or utilities will not be dedicated to public ownership.
(ii) If the Municipal Council authorizes the appropriation, the petition will be forwarded for final approval as provided in Subsection (1)(g) of this Section.
(g) Upon referral under Subsection (1)(d) or (1)(f) of this Section, the petition will be considered by the Coordinators Review Committee (CRC) Executive Committee, consisting of the Chief Administrative Officer and directors of the following departments: Public Works, Development Services, Parks and Recreation, Fire, and Energy. The CRC Executive Committee will decide whether to grant final approval of the petition under Subsection (1)(h) of this Section.
(h) Dedication to public ownership may be approved by the CRC Executive Committee only if a finding has been made that dedication is in the public interest and all the conditions in Subsection (3) of this Section have been met. The mere fact that the conditions in Subsection (3) of this Section are met does not guarantee that the street will be approved for public ownership.
(2) The following factors, among others, may be considered by the CRC Executive Committee in determining whether dedication is in the public interest:
(a) The street provides or can provide access to open space, public facilities/uses, or other public amenities.
(b) The street provides or can provide an improvement to the surrounding pedestrian or vehicular circulation pattern.
(c) The street provides or can provide an identified planning goal as noted in the adopted master plan for the neighborhood.
(d) Dedicating the street or utility to public ownership will encourage reinvestment in the community.
(e) Dedicating the street or utility to public ownership will improve water conservation in the community.
(f) Dedicating the street or utility to public ownership will increase maintenance efficiency for City workers.
(g) Dedicating the street or utility to public ownership will mitigate a hazardous condition and/or will lead to an improvement in health or safety conditions in the community.
(h) Dedicating the street or utility to public ownership will enhance public safety for the community and surrounding area (e.g., access, certified maintenance, and use of fire hydrants for a high-risk fire danger area).
(3) Private streets and utilities will not be approved for public ownership unless:
(a) The street surface features and/or utilities meet current City standards, the petitioners have received funding to bring them up to current City standards, or it is demonstrated that the key objectives of current City standards are already being met by existing conditions.
(i) In determining whether street surface features meet these requirements, the CRC Executive Committee may specifically consider:
(A) The street’s grade, surface, and width as they relate to health, safety, and the ability of the City to provide services;
(B) Fire Code standards; and
(C) Current State and Federal standards, such as those contained in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
(b) Deteriorated retaining walls and other private property features abutting the proposed public ownership have been removed, repaired, or replaced by the property owners to ensure public safety.
(c) The City is able to safely and efficiently provide services (fire protection, garbage collection, snow removal, etc.) along the street.
(4) Except as described in Subsection (1)(f) of this Section, the City will not pay the cost of underground or surface improvements to bring the street or utilities into compliance with Subsection (3) of this Section. The burden is on the private street property owners to fund necessary improvements.
(a) Private street property owners may pursue funding options to bring the street and/or utilities into compliance with Subsection (3) of this Section through the City’s community development block grant (CDBG), capital improvement program (CIP), or special assessment area (SAA) programs.
(5) If matching funding is requested from the City through the CDBG or CIP programs, or through creation of an SAA, the request will be considered through the routine processes for allocation of those funds and will not be given priority.
(6) The City will not agree to split the ownership of utilities and streets unless the public interest in dedication is compelling. Utilities and streets are the only property the City will consider for conversion to public ownership. The City will not accept any other property, liabilities, or responsibilities of the private property owners.
(7) If a private street was created as part of a planned development:
(a) The City will not pay or share the cost of repairing or improving the street. However, property owners may pursue funding options as described in Subsection (4)(a) of this Section.
(b) An amendment to the planned development is required.
(c) The amendment process will be reviewed by the Planning Commission with a recommendation forwarded to the Municipal Council.
(d) The petition for dedication for such a street will only be forwarded to the CRC Executive Committee for final approval under Subsection (1)(h) of this Section if the Municipal Council approves the amendment.
(8) The City may determine that a street proposed to be dedicated requires an evaluation or audit to ensure compliance with ADA standards as described in Subsection (3)(a)(i) of this Section. Petitioners will be responsible for funding any evaluation or audit deemed necessary.
(9) The City will not take ownership of a street that does not allow public access.
(10) The City will not take ownership of a street that is targeted for redevelopment as identified in a City master plan.
(11) No specific rights or guarantees for use of the street, such as on-street parking, are conveyed to private street owners when a private street becomes publicly owned.