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HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-1966-733 ",~ . . . . ,...-r '. . -, . ., . ORDINANCE NO. 71 J3 --I AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE POLICY OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE ON APPLICATIONS BY PROPERTY OWNERS TO VACATE, ABANDON, AND CLOSE STREETS OR,ALLEYS WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE; PRESCRIBING AN APPLICATION FEE OF ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100) TO COVER THE EXPENSE OF PROCESSING SUCH APPLICATION; CONTAINING A REPEALING AND A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND SETTING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of La Porte recently has had frequent applications from property ow,ners within the City, to vacate, abandon, and close streets or alleys within the City; and WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of La Porte has never defined by ordinance, its policy on the handling of such applications, including its requirements for the contents of such applications; and WHEREAS, the handling and processing of such applications requires the City of La Porte to incur administrative, engineering, and legal expense, which expense should be borne by the applicant: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE, TEXAS, THAT: Section 1. From and after the effective date of this Ordinance, any adjacent property owner seeking the consent of the City Commission of the City of La Porte to vacate, abandon, and close any street or alley within the corporate limits of the City of La Porte, shall file written application with the City Clerk of the City of' La Porte, requesting that said street or alley, or portion thereof, be vacated, abandoned, and closed. The street or alley, or portion thereof, sought to be closed, shall be defined in the application. All persons owning any property adjacent to the street 'or alley, or portion thereof, sought to be closed, shall join in such application~ In addition, such application shall include the following: (1) A statement by the applicant(s) of the reason for the request; - . - . e . ..' . . . Page 2 of 4 Pages (2) A plot plan, showing the street or alley sought to be vacated, abandoned, and closed, or portion thereof, by a licensed Texa~ Public Surveyor, drawn to a scale of not less than one inch equals fifty feet, shall be attached to such applicationj (3) An opinion letter by a duly licensed Texas attorney(s) that applicant(s) has good fee simple title' to the property(s) adjacent and contigent to the street or alley, or portion thereof, sought to be closed, shall be attached to such application. In addition, there shall be attached to such opinion letter, either original or photocopies of the recorded instrument(s) vesting fee simple title in applicant(s), and original or photocopy of Owner's Title Policy issued by a reputable title insurance company doing business in Harris County, Texas, guaranteeing the title to applicant's said adjacent propertyj (4) A cashier's check payable to the City of La Porte in payment of the application fee hereinafter established. Section 2. Upon the filing of such application, with supporting documents as hereinabove provided, with the City Clerk of the City of La Porte, the City Clerk shall forthwith refer said application to the C'ity Attorney of the City of La Porte, and the City Engineer and Director of Public Works of the City of La Porte, who shall each examine such application, and forthwith deliver their written recommendations concerning the legal and engineering aspects, respectively, of such application, to the City Commission of the City of La Porte. The City Engineer and Director of Public Works, in making such recommendation, shall give due consideration to present use' or non-use of the street or alley, or portion thereof, sought to be closedj traffic patterns in the areaj proximity of other alleys or streets, and major and minor thoroughfares in the '. . - . -e . .. . . . Page 3 of 4 area; and the effect of the proposed closing of said street or alley, or portion thereof, on access by fire and other emergency vehicles, and other City service vehicles, to adjacent property, and property in the surrounding area. In addition, the City Engineer and the Director of Public Works shall give due considera- tion to the location of City water and sewer lines, if any, in the street or alley, or portion thereof, sought to be closed, together with any plans by the City for future extension of water or sewer lines within said street or alley, or portion thereof, sought to be closed. Section 3. Upon the filing of such application, the City Clerk of the City of La Porte shall make written inquiry of each of the public utilities then holding franchises from the City of La Porte, notifying them of such applicat'i1(im, and requesting that each of said franchised utilities file with the City Clerk's office a written statement on their position on the application to close such street or alley, or portion thereof, and specifically stating whether they object to or consent to the closing of such street or alley, or portion thereof, by the City Commission of the City of La Porte. Section 4. The City Commission of the City of La Porte hereby finds, determines and declares that the administrative overhead to. the City of La Porte for the filing and processing of such applications, including engineering and legal expense, re- quire the reasonable, application fee of One Hundred Dollars ($100) for each such application to vacate, abandon, and close any street or alley, or portion thereof, within the corporate limits of the City of La Porte. A cashier's check payable to the City of La Porte, for said sum, shall accompany all applications hereunder, and no portion thereof shall be refundable, regardless of the final action on said application by the City Commission of the City of La Porte. Provided, said ~pplication fee of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) shall be a minimum fee only, and the City of La Porte shall have the right to require a larger fee to process any such . e. . e .. '. e, --e e ., . Page 4 of 4 application in any case where the City Commission finds that the administrative overhead to the City for the processing of such application would exceed the minimum fee herein established. Section 5. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. Section 6. If any section, paragraph, clause or sentence shall be declared void and unenforceable or unconstitu- tional, it is hereby declared to be the intention of the Commission that the rematnder of such Ordinance shall remain in full force and effect. Section 7. This Ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and'approval. PASSED AND APPROVED this the 3rd day of January, 1966. ATTEST: exas 4TI~A~'f" C y C 'o.e C ty'of La Porte, Texas /' ---I