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HomeMy Public PortalAboutOrdinance No. 780-96 01-09-1996 780-96 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 3 'BUILDING REGULATIONS" OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, CITY OF RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS, AS AMENDED, BY THE ADDITION THERETO OF A NEW SECTION 16 "ABANDONMENT OF STREET OR EASEMENT"; AUTHORIZING PROCEDURES FOR ABANDONMENT OF EXISTING STREETS OR EASEMENTS; IMPOSING A FEE TO DEFRAY ADNIINISTRATIVE COSTS; PROVIDING A SEVERABILTTY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVING CLAUSE AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, it is desirable and, in some instances, necessary, from time to time, for the City to abandon certain portions of certain streets, rights-of-way and easements within the City, for the benefit of adjoining property owners and the public at large; and WHEREAS, there currently exists no formal procedure to accomplish this purpose; and WHEREAS, certain expenses and costs are incurred by the City in the review and abandonment process, which should be recouped from the persons requesting the abandonment. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS: I. That Chapter 3 "BUILDING REGULATIONS" of the Code of Ordinances, City of Richland Hills, Texas, as amended, be hereby amended by the addition thereto of a new Section 16 "ABANDONMENT OF STREETS AND EASEMENTS", which new section shall hereafter be and read as follows: SECTION 16: ABANDONMENT OF STREETS AND EASEMENTS Any person, firm or corporation, or any group of persons, firms or corporations desiring abandonment of all or any portion of a street, right-of-way or easement adjacent to or affecting property owned by such person, firm or corporation shall make application to the Code Enforcement Officer, on forms supplied by the City, for such abandonment. At the time such application is made, the applicant shall pay to the City a processing fee of $125.00 to defray the City's costs in processing the application and the abandonment contemplated thereby. This fee shall not be refundable, regardless of whether the abandonment is approved or denied. The application and abandonment request shall be accompanied by such documents and shall be processed in such manner as shall be established by written policies maintained in the office of the Code Enforcement Officer. A copy of such policies and listing of required documents and authorizations shall be provided to any interested party upon request. ORDINANCE NO. PAGE 1 • II. Severability Clause. That it is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared invalid or unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such invalid or unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. III. Saving Clause. That Chapter 3 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Richland Hills, Texas, as amended, shall remain in full force and effect, save and except as amended by this ordinance. IV. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as provided by the Richland Hills City Charter and the laws of the State of Texas. • PRESENTED, GIVEN FIRST READIN 9 hND APPROan~D at a regular meeting of the Richland Hills City Council on the day of 199, by a vote of 5 ayes, ~ nays, and ~ abstentions. APPROVED: C. F. Kelley, Mayor ATTEST: t..,~.. rri illis, City Secretary OVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: h a en ? ~bs ,City Attorney • rhlibl6/bh/112195 ORDINANCE NO. 780-96 PAGE 2 • PROCEDURE FOR ABANDONMENT OF A STREET OR EASEMENT WITHIN THE CITY OF RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS 1. There are exceptions, but as a general rule when a street is abandoned, the land contained within the abandoned street reverts to the use and ownership of adjacent property owners. 2. The land within an abandoned easement reverts to the owner of the subservient property across which the easement traverses. 3. An application requesting an abandonment is filed with the Code Enforcement Officer with an attached drawing, on a map of the area supplied by the City, depicting as accurately as possible the area to be abandoned. The application shall state the reason for the requested abandonment and the proposed use of the property following abandonment. The Code Enforcement Officer shall review the abandonment application for compliance with City codes and endorse thereon approval or disapproval of the application. 4. If a proposed abandonment affects a public street, the application shall be reviewed by the City Engineer (if applicable) who shall determine that the application is technically correct and that the proposed abandonment does not adversely affect the public safety. If the application is approved by the City Engineer, the Engineer shall endorse such approval thereon, or if disapproved, the Engineer shall clearly state the reasons for such disapproval on the face of • the application. 5. The application for abandonment shall be reviewed by the Fire Chief for determination of the effect of the abandonment on access and fire safety. The Fire Chief shall endorse such determination on the face of the application. 6. An abandonment request involving a public street shall be reviewed by the Police Chief for determination of the effect on traffic and public safety and the Police Chief shall endorse such determination on the face of the application. 7. An application for abandonment shall be reviewed by the Public Works Officer for the location of utilities affected by the proposed abandonment and determination of the effect thereon. The Public Works Officer shall endorse such determination on the face of the application. 8. In conducting the reviews required herein, the city officials involved shall endeavor to meet and review the application jointly, in order to expedite the review process. 9. Upon completion of this process, the application shall be forwarded to the Planning and Zoning Commission for review and recommendation to the City Council of action thereon. 10. Upon completion of review of the abandonment application by City officials, and after the Planning and Zoning Commission has issued its recommendations, • the application shall be placed on the Council agenda for preliminary consideration of a proposed ordinance granting the requested abandonment. 11. Upon completion of review by City staff, and in the event the request receives preliminary approval by the City Council, the applicant shall be notified of the staff recommendations and preliminary action by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council on said application. ff the applicant still desires to pursue the abandonment request, the applicant shall submit a plat prepared by a registered professional surveyor describing by metes and bounds legal description the street or easement to be abandoned. The plat shall depict the adjacent land and streets affected by the requested abandonment. Upon said submission, said application and plat shall again be reviewed by the Code Enforcement Officer. If the Code Enforcement Officer's review of the plat indicates that significant changes might exist, then said officer shall initiate a review of said plat by the City Engineer (if applicable), Fire Chief, Police Chief and Public Works Director under the criteria listed above, and if any of said officials` determinations are changed by such re-review, such change shall be noted on the face of said application. The application, plat and accompanying material shall again be submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission for review and recommendation and, after such consideration, shall be placed on a City Council agenda for final consideration. 12. If the requested abandonment is granted by the City Council, an executed copy of the ordinance granting same shall be filed among the deed records of Tarrant County Texas. 15rhlib/010396 • • PROCEDURE FOR ABANDONMENT OF A STREET OR EASEMENT Page 2