Senate Bill No. 321

Senate Bill No. 321-Committee on Government Affairs

(On Behalf of Washoe County)

April 22, 1997
____________

Referred to Committee on Government Affairs

SUMMARY--Revises provisions governing acquisition, vacation, abandonment or construction of certain real property by local governments. (BDR 22-672)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.

Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: No.

EXPLANATION - Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is material to be omitted.

AN ACT relating to local governments; allowing a local government to authorize its planning commission to make certain decisions relating to the acquisition, vacation, abandonment or construction of certain real property by a local government; providing a procedure for the appeal of such decisions; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1 NRS 278.240 is hereby amended to read as follows:
278.240 1. Whenever the governing body of [any] a city, county or region [shall have] has adopted a master plan, or one or more subject matters thereof, for the city, county or region, or for [any] a major section or district thereof, no street, square, park, or other public way, ground, or open space [shall] may be acquired by dedication or otherwise, except by bequest, and no street or public way [shall] may be closed or abandoned, and no public building or structure [shall] may be constructed or authorized in the area for which the master plan or one or more subject matters thereof [shall have] has been adopted by the governing body until the location, character and extent thereof [shall have] has been submitted to and [shall have been] approved by the planning commission.
[2. In case of disapproval thereof by the planning commission,] If the governing body has not authorized the planning commission to act finally, the planning commission [shall communicate its reasons] must report its recommendations to the governing body which may overrule the [disapproval] decision of the planning commission by a majority vote of its entire membership.
[3.] If the governing body has authorized the planning commission to act finally, a person aggrieved by the decision of the planning commission may appeal the decision to the governing body within 10 days after issuance of the decision.
2. If the authorization, acquisition, financing or acceptance of such street, square, park, or other public way, ground, or open space, or the construction or authorization of such public building or structure be vested by law or charter provisions in some governmental body, commission or board other than the governing body of such city, county or region, then such governmental body, commission or board having jurisdiction [shall] must first submit to the planning commission the location, character and extent of the proposed public improvement for its approval. [In the event that the planning commission shall disapprove the same, its disapproval] If the governing body has not authorized the planning commission to act finally, the decision of the planning commission may only be overruled by such other governmental body, board or commission by a vote of not less than two-thirds of its entire membership.
[4.] If the governing body has authorized the planning commission to act finally, a person aggrieved by the decision of the planning commission may appeal the decision to the governing body within 10 days after issuance of the decision.
3. Failure of the planning commission to act upon such submission within 40 days [from and] after the date of the official submission to the planning commission by the governing body or by such other governmental body, board or commission shall be deemed to be an approval by the planning commission.
Sec. 2 NRS 278.480 is hereby amended to read as follows:
278.480 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 10, [any] an abutting owner or local government desiring the vacation or abandonment of any street or easement owned by a city or a county, or any portion thereof, [shall] must file a petition in writing with the planning commission or, if there is no planning commission, with the governing body having jurisdiction.
2. The governing body may, by ordinance, authorize the planning commission to act finally on a vacation or abandonment of a street or easement owned by a city or a county. If the governing body has authorized the planning commission to act finally, a person aggrieved by the decision of the planning commission may appeal the decision to the governing body within 10 days after the issuance of the decision. If [there is a] the governing body has not authorized the planning commission [, it shall] to act finally, the planning commission must report its recommendations on the petition to the governing body . [as set forth in NRS 278.240.]
3. Whenever [any] a street or easement owned by a city or a county is proposed to be vacated, the governing body , or the planning commission if the governing body has authorized the planning commission to act finally on the vacation or abandonment of a street or easement owned by a city or a county, shall notify by certified mail each owner of property abutting the proposed abandonment and cause a notice to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or county, setting forth the extent of the proposed abandonment and setting a date for public hearing, which must be not less than 10 days and not more than 40 days after the date the notice is first published.
4. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, if, upon public hearing, the governing body , or the planning commission if the governing body has authorized the planning commission to act finally on the vacation or abandonment of a street or easement owned by a city or a county, is satisfied that the public will not be materially injured by the proposed vacation, it shall order the street or easement vacated. The governing body or planning commission may make the order conditional, and the order becomes effective only upon the fulfillment of the conditions prescribed.
5. If a utility has an easement over the property, the governing body , or the planning commission if the governing body has authorized the planning commission to act finally on the vacation or abandonment of a street or easement owned by a city or a county, shall provide in its order for the continuation of that easement.
6. The order must be recorded in the office of the county recorder, if all the conditions of the order have been fulfilled, and upon the recordation title to the street or easement reverts to the abutting property owners in the approximate proportion that the property was dedicated by the abutting property owners or their predecessors in interest. In the event of a partial vacation of a street where the vacated portion is separated from the property from which it was acquired by the unvacated portion of it, the governing body may sell the vacated portion upon such terms and conditions as it deems desirable and in the best interests of the city. If the governing body sells the vacated portion, it shall afford the right of first refusal to each abutting property owner as to that part of the vacated portion which abuts his property, but no action may be taken by the governing body , or the planning commission if the governing body has authorized the planning commission to act finally on the vacation or abandonment of a street or easement owned by a city or a county, to force the owner to purchase that portion and that portion may not be sold to any person other than the owner if the sale would result in a complete loss of access to a street from the abutting property.
7. If the street was acquired by dedication from the abutting property owners or their predecessors in interest, no payment is required for title to the proportionate part of the street reverted to each abutting property owner. If the street was not acquired by dedication, the governing body , or the planning commission if the governing body has authorized the planning commission to act finally on the vacation or abandonment of a street or easement owned by a city or a county, may make its order conditional upon payment by the abutting property owners for their proportionate part of the street of such consideration as the governing body or planning commission determines to be reasonable. If the governing body or planning commission determines that the vacation has a public benefit, it may apply the benefit as an offset against any determination of reasonable consideration which did not take into account the public benefit.
8. If an easement for light and air owned by a city or a county is adjacent to a street vacated [under] pursuant to the provisions of this section, the easement is vacated upon the vacation of the street.
9. In [any] the vacation or abandonment of [any] a street owned by a city or a county, or any portion thereof, the governing body , or planning commission if the governing body has authorized the planning commission to act finally on the vacation or abandonment of a street or easement owned by a city or a county, may reserve and except therefrom any easements, rights or interests therein which the governing body or planning commission deems desirable for the use of the city or of [any] a public utility.
10. The governing body may establish by local ordinance a simplified procedure for the vacation or abandonment of an easement for a public utility owned or controlled by the governing body.