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6.a) Staff Report-Birch Lane VacationSCANDIA Staff Report Date of Meeting: February 18, 2014 To: City Council From: Kristina Handt, Administrator Re: Vacation of Portion of Birch Lane Background: Last fall Steve and Irene Kronmiller contacted the City to follow up on actions from 2003 by the Town Board regarding the exchange of land near their property on 188th St. In May 2003 the town board minutes read: Michael Hinz made a motion to approve the plan submitted by Tom Peterson, Township Engineer for the street realignment between Kronmiller and Kramer on 188 1h Street. Nancy Madden seconded the motion and motion adopted unanimously. A copy of Tom Peterson's (Town Engineer at the time) plan was provided to the Council at the November 2013 work session. As discussed at the November work session, former Town/City Attorney Dave Hebert provided additional background information. Landmark Surveying had discussions with the County Recorder's office on what would be allowed for recording as far as the subdivision was concerned. The property is registered under the torrens system. Part of the discussion was whether quit claim deeds or a plat of some sort would be required. During this discussion it was also discovered that a Declaration of Lien in favor of the State and Federal Governments had been filed against the title. The property had been acquired with State and Federal grant money for a neighborhood drainfield system ("201"). In order to convey the property to the affected landowners, the Registrar of Titles was requiring a release of the Declaration. It seemed that would have required an appraisal of the unneeded portion of the property and the possible partial payback of the grant funds. A beginning effort was made to see what would be required but the acquisition of the property was done by Washington County under the "201 "program and records were difficult to locate. A contact was made with someone from the Pollution Control Agency but getting cooperation from the Federal government seemed problematic. That is where the process ended in 2003. It appears from the Kronmillers recent letter that these difficulties were not shared with them. An alternative to trying to get the federal and state government to release the lien and pay back a portion of the grant money, would be for the City to vacate those portions of the road noted on the plan from 2003 and draft driveway easements for the properties that cross the City parcel before getting to the road right of way. In November, Council directed staff to pursue this alternative. Vacating portions of Birch Lane will address the property owners concerns about the possibility of needing a variance from a platted road that actually isn't in use should they decide to pursue any further development on their properties. It was previously noted in the Planner's report for the Kronmiller variance that since Elm Lane is an unopened road that isn't intended to be used/developed, the Planner waived the requirement for a variance from road setback in that instance. Additionally, if the City grants easements for the two driveways that will still need to cross the old drainfield property before reaching 188th St, the property owners will have a stronger assurance that their properties will not lose road access in the future. Vacating a street is a legislative act so the Council has wide discretion to abandon or maintain any public grounds. Vacations commenced by the City Council require a four-fifths vote to approve. If the resolution is approved, staff will prepare a notice of completion of the proceedings and have it filed and recorded with the county. Per the League of Minnesota Cities' memo, state statute allows a city council to vacate a street only upon a finding that the vacation is "in the interest of the public." The public includes persons other than those in the immediate vicinity of the vacation. In addition to publishing the notice in the Messenger twice, staff mailed out notices to everyone within 500 feet of the proposed vacation. Mere long-term, non-use of a street ground does not necessarily equate with a finding that the vacation is in the best interest of the public. As long as access to the lake and a wide enough road right of way is maintained, staff can see no public use for the portions proposed to be vacated. When a street is lawfully vacated, the easement granting the public the right to travel the street ceases to exist, and the title to the land under the street reverts to the underlying fee owners of the property for their exclusive use and enjoyment. The reversion occurs by operation of law, and the city is not able to direct or convey ownership of the fee title upon vacation. The law presumes property owners along the vacated street each hold a grant of soil to the center of the street where their property abuts the street. As a result, upon vacation, title to half of the street usually reverts to each abutting property owner. In a few rare instances, the city may actually own the underlying fee title to the vacated public way or grounds. In these instances, upon vacation the city becomes the fee owner and may keep or dispose of the property as it deems in the best interests of the city. After the vacation process is complete, the City could decide to convey through a quit claim deed or some other mechanism, its portion of the vacated road to the other adjoining property owners. Once the vacation is recorded, the City Attorney can draft easement agreements for the driveways crossing over the old drainfield to access 1881h St. Those will be brought back to the Council at a later date. Issue: Should the City vacate the green portions of Birch Lane as shown on Exhibit A? Proposal Details: The Council still wanted to maintain access to Big Marine Lake so not all of Birch Lane was proposed to be vacated. Similar to the plan originally approved by the Town Board, staff is recommending that a 30 foot wide section of Birch Lane be maintained between the roadway to the lake and the property the City owns (former drainfield site). Also, staff is recommending a 60 foot right of way be maintained along 188, St. Resolution 02-18-14-01 includes the legal description provided by Landmark Surveying as well as a map of the area as Exhibit A to help folks understand the area proposed to be vacated. Options: 1) Approve Resolution 2-18-14-01 2) Amend and then Approve Resolution 2-18-14-01 3) Do not Approve Resolution 2-18-14-01 Recommendation: If no issues are unresolved and no concern expressed by the public at the hearing, then approve the resolution.