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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHayden Development new intersection • • JEFFERSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS 1820 Jefferson Street 0.4T-7. .Y = V :_ P.O. Box 1220 % Port Townsend, WA 98368 �j/y (206) 385-9160 Gary A. Rowe, P.E., Director Robert G. Nesbitt, P.E., County Engineer September 3, 1993 . Hayden Development P.O. Box 26 Port Ludlow, WA 98365 Dear Mr. Charawell and Mr. Promisel: As you are aware, the Board of County Commissioners has approved the vacation of the Old Hadlock/Chimacum Road intersection with certain conditions attached. The vacation is not complete and of record until these conditions are met. One condition is that the right of way be secured to construct a new intersection. This, as you may remember, was agreed upon between you and Jefferson County. Enclosed is a deed for this right of way, which transfers the property for this right of way from Hayden Development to Jefferson County. After it is signed and notarized by the corporate officers, it can be returned to the Department of Public Works, which will take care of recording the instrument. While acquisition of this right of way is not the only condition to be met prior to finalization of the vacation, it is a major requirement. • Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 385-0890. ' Sincerely, S County Engineer , , • 617 100% Recycled Paper • • Commissioners' Meeting Minutes: Week of February 16, 1993 Page: 4 9. Approval of Plat Amendment; Relocation of a Drainage Easement on Lot 32 and 33 and Combination of Lots 32 and 33 into a Revised Lot 32; Marshall Addition 10.DELETE Approval of Reduced Amount for Claim NC-01-93; Damage from Accident with a County Vehicle; Russell Was-field; $200.00 11.Approval Purchase of One (1) Double Drum Vibratory Roller; Ingersoll-Rand Equipment Sales for $24,075.00; for Public Works BUSINESS FROM COUNTY DEPARTMENTS PUBLIC WORKS . r--' - Hearing Examiner Findings, Conclusions and Recommendation re: Vacation of a Portion of Old Hadlock Road; At Intersection with Chimacum Road about 600 feet ,y South of Lopeman Road and west of Elkins Road; Jefferson County, Applicant: Public • Works Administrative Assistant Eileen Simon reported that this vacation is being considered ,s at the request of the County to vacate a portion of Old Hadlock Road at its intersection with Chimacum Road, south of Lopeman Road and West of Elkins Road. The Hearing Examiner • held a hearing on the request and recommends that the vacation be approved subject to the following conditions: 1) An easement within the right-of-way shall be reserved for trail purposes. 2) Prior to the road being vacated, Hayden Development Company shall dedicate by statutory warranty deed land needed for the construction of a right-of-way for a new • intersection connecting Chimacum Road to Old Hadlock Road. • Chairman Wojt asked when the intersection improvements would be made if this vacation is approved? County Engineer Bob Nesbitt explained the plans for the intersection • improvements. Commissioner Huntingford moved to approve the vacation as recommended by the Hearing Examiner. Commissioner Hinton seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. Decision on Adoption of the Proposed Solid Waste Fee Ordinance: Public Works Director Gary Rowe reported that findings of fact and conclusions have been drafted to support the proposed increase in solid waste fees•as directed by the Board after the public hearing. Commissioner Hinton asked the weight of the trailers as they are being loaded currently? Bob Nesbitt explained that the trailers are being loaded with between 17 and 18 tons of waste. The new long haul transport contract charge is based on two trailers at a time loaded with 34 tons of solid waste. Commissioner Hinton stated that the long haul contractor will be paid • by the load, and he feels that it was an error to award the contract written that way. If the trailers haul less than the maximum tonnage, the County will be subsidizing the cost. Gary Rowe reported that the bid for hauling was based on the optimum amount of garbage being hauled per trip, to provide the most competitive bid for this service. If the bid was based on a per ton rate without the County having control over loading, then the hauler wouldn't give a reasonable bid. It is in the County'.s best interest to load the maximum amount of garbage on the trailers, so that the most garbage is transported in the least number of trips. He explained that not every ton of garbage taken in at the County landfill is sent to the regional landfill. Things like large appliances, tires, and yard wastes (when the composing facility is operating) are disposed of by an alternate method. County Engineer Bob' Nesbitt added that the trailers are loaded, tamed and sealed and then the transport company is called to pick them up. Gary Rowe added that.the trucks are also weighed before they are turned over to the trucking firm. VOL 19 FACE183 • JAN 29 1993 JEFFERSON CO(i" OFFICE OF THE HEARING EXAMINER FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY RE: Street Vacation ) Application of Jefferson ) County to vacate a ) portion of Old Hadlock ) Road. ) FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, ) AND RECOMMENDATION ) ) SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL AND RECOMMENDATION Proposal: Jefferson County is seeking to vacate that portion of Old Hadlock Road at its intersection with Chimacum Road about 600 feet south of Lopeman Road and west of Elkins Road. Recommendation: Approval, subject to conditions. r FINDINGS OF FACT BACKGROUND INFORMATION Applicant: Jefferson County Applicant's Address: P.O. Box 1220, Port Townsend, WA 98368 Name of Street: Old Hadlock Road Street Location: West side of and intersecting with Chimacum Road west of Elkins Road and about 600 feet south of Lopeman Road, in the vicinity of Hadlock. Legal Description: A portion of the Northwest Quarter of the Northeast Quarter of Section 11, Township 29 North, Range 1 West, W.M. • • Description and History of Street: Old Hadlock Road is an unplatted public road that has been in existence for about 100 years. The area that the applicant seeks to vacate is 30 feet wide and 606 feet long. The portion that the applicant seeks to vacate is parallel to and intersects with Chimacum Road on the west side of Chimacum Road. The full length of the road more or less parallels Chimacum Road. It intersects with Chimacum at points both north and south of the area that the applicant seeks to vacate. The Public Works Department previously made application to vacate the portion of Old Hadlock Road immediately to the north, extending from the north boundary of the area that it is now seeking to vacate to Lopeman Road. The Hearing Examiner recommended approval of that vacation subject to a condition requiring the County to preserve and maintain an easement within the right-of-way for public walking and bicycling. As of the date of this recommendation, the Board of County Commissioners has not acted on the recommendation of the Hearing Examiner. Description and Purpose of Request: Jefferson County is seeking to vacate this section of the right-of-way together with other sections of the right-of-way for Old Hadlock Road in order to eliminate and replace the exisiting intersection of Old Hadlock Road with Chimacum Road because it considers the intersection to be a dangerous or hazardous intersection. The County proposes to widen and improve Chimacum Road in the vicinity of the area of Old Hadlock Road that it proposes to vacate. The improvements will include a sidewalk or walkway. If the vacation is approved, Hayden Development Company, which owns the property immediately to the west, will dedicate land to the county so that a new intersection may be created south of the present intersection. PROCEDURAL INFORMATION Authorizing Ordinances: Jefferson County Street Vacation Ordinance (Ordinance No. 3-85 as amended by 06-0615-92 ) . Hearing Date: January 5, 1993 Jefferson County Findings,Conclusions, Street Vacation Application - 2 - and Recommendation Notices: Mailed: November 24, 1992 Posted: November 23, 1992 Published: December 23 and 30, 1992 (Port Townsend Leader) Site Visit: October 6, 1992 in conjunction with the proposal to vacate the portion of Old Hadlock Road immediately to the north. SEPA: Exempt Testimony: Eileen Simon, Jefferson County Public Works Department, presented the Public Works Department Report and Recommendation. Robert Nesbitt, Jefferson County Public Works Department, County Engineer, testified to the following: The Public Works Department considers the intersection to be a hazardous intersection. Based on its accident history, it has a rating of " 11, " which places it near the top of the list of hazardous intersections in the county. Vacating this section of Old Hadlock Road will not result in Hadlock Road becoming unusable or becoming inaccessible from Old Chimacum Road. Access to the unvacated portions of Old Hadlock Road from Chimacum Road will be provided by new intersections. Chimacum Road will be improved in the area of Old Hadlock Road that the Public Works Department is seeking to vacate. Those improvements will include new intersections with Old Hadlock Road and a walking path. In response to public testimony in opposition to the street vacation Mr. Nesbitt testified that the alternatives to the street vacation suggested by opponents to it would either be too expensive or ineffective. He stated that building a new road would be considerably more costly than what is being proposed. He stated that placing a barrier at the intersection of Old Hadlock and Chimacum Road would not be effective because it would not stop traffic that would turn onto Old Hadlock from Chimacum Road to the south. Leon Lopeman, adjacent property owner, testified that he favored the request as well as the previous request to vacate the portion of Old Hadlock Road to the south. Phil Akridge, Old Hadlock Road resident, testified in opposition to the request. He testified that Old Hadlock Road is used by people in the area and that there are reasonable alternatives to Jefferson County Findings, Conclusions, Street Vacation Application -3 - and Recommendation • • vacating it. He stated that the County could put a barrier between Old Hadlock Road and Chimacum Road or that it could move Old Hadlock Road to the west, thereby separating it from Chimacum Road. Wayne Moran, Old Hadlock Road property owner, testified in opposition to the request. He testified to the following: Old Hadlock Road is safer than Chimacum Road for pedestrians, bicyclists, and horse riders. It is also safer for people who want to drive slowly along the road rather than the fairly high speed of traffic on Chimacum Road. The proposed road vacation seems to be an extreme expense to the County for the benefit of only a very few. If the concern is that the intersection of Old Hadlock Road with Chimacum Road is dangerous, a barricade separating the two roads and closing the intersection could be placed at the point where the two roads intersect. Douglas Joyce, Old Hadlock Road resident, testified in opposition to the request. He testified that a similar vacation request was made by a private property owner in 1974/75, and that it was denied, based upon, among other things, a recommendation of denial by the Planning Department, which stated that Old Hadlock Road was needed for both vehicular and non-vehicular travel. Mr. Joyce submitted the minutes from the 1974/75 street vacation hearing to the record. It is identified as Exhibit No. 5. Mike Anderson, Old Hadlock Road property owner, testified in opposition to the request. He testified to the following: He owns rental property on the road. His tenants use the road for a horse trail. If the road were vacated, they would not be able to do that. He also expressed concern about how vacating the road would affect truck movements on the Hayden Development Company site. Exhibits: 1. Public Works Department Report and Recommendation 2 . Map Showing Portion of Road Proposed to be Vacated 3. Map Showing Proposed Improvements to Chimacum Road at its Intersection with Old Hadlock Road 4 . Petitions in Opposition to Vacation 5a. Written statement of Douglas Joyce 5b. Excerpts from Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners meeting of November 18, 1975 5c. Excerpts from Board of County Commissioners meeting from March 1975 5d. Planning Commission Recommendation on 1974 petition to vacate Old Hadlock Road Jefferson County Findings,Conclusions, Street Vacation Application - 4 - and Recommendation • 5e. Planning Commission Recommendation on 1975 petition to vacate Old Hadlock Road 5f. Excerpts from November 9, 1992 Board of County Commissioners hearing FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS To be approved, the proposed vacation must be consistent with the review criteria established in Section 5 of the Jefferson County Road Vacation Ordinance (Ordinance No. 3-85, as amended by 04- 0615-92 ) . The Hearing Examiner has reviewed the proposed vacation and the evidence of record with regard to their criteria and makes the following findings and conclusions: 1 . The proposed vacation complies with the Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan and other applicable plans, policies, and ordinances. The consistency of the proposal with the Comprehensive Plan is analyzed in the Planning Department comments to the vacation request. Those comments are set out in their entirety in the Public Works Department Report and Recommendation (Exhibit 1) . The Hearing Examiner hereby adopts the analysis of the Planning Department noting that the Plan policies pertaining to road vacations are similar to the statutory criteria for reviewing vacations and that those criteria are the basis for this review. Therefore, if the vacation is found to be consistent with the statutory review criteria, it may also be found to be consistent with the Plan policies. 2 . The right-of-way is not needed for area circulation or for future use. The right-of-way is not needed for vehicular circulation. It is used for that purpose by 100 or so vehicles per day, but those vehicles do have an alternate route, Chimacum Road. Vacating this portion of Hadlock Road would not eliminate access to any property. In fact, vacating this portion of Old Hadlock Road will not significantly affect the use of Old Hadlock Road. It will result in only a short portion of it that is hazardous to the public safety being eliminated. Improvements will be made to Chimacum Road that will create a new intersection with Old Hadlock Road so that use of Old Hadlock Road may continue except Jefferson County Findings, Conclusions, Street Vacation Application - 5 - and Recommendation • • along the section that the Public Works Department has concluded is hazardous. 3. The effectiveness of fire, medical, law enforcement, or other emergency services will not be impaired. Though the County Sheriff did submit comments about the vacation that essentially reflected the comments or concerns of people in the area who are opposed to the vacation, the Sheriff did not state in any comments to the record that the vacation would adversely affect the delivery of law enforcement or other emergency services. The Fire District did not respond to the request. Therefore, the Hearing Examiner assumes that they are notconcerned. that. vacating the right-of-way would impair the effectiveness of emergency services. The Hearing Examiner has no independent reason to believe that it would. 4 . The right-of-way cannot be effectively used for a utility corridor, or, if it can be, appropriate easements have been preserved. Puget Sound Power and Light submitted comments stating that it has an overhead electrical system within a portion of the proposed vacation but that it has an easement for the system, and therefore does not object to the vacation. U.S. West Telephone Company, Port Townsend Utilities Department, and Public Utilities District No. 1 did not comment on the proposal. Therefore, the Hearing Examiner assumes that they have no objection to the proposed vacation. 5. The right-of-way cannot be effectively used for a trail or pathway, or, if it can be, appropriate easements have been preserved. The testimony given at this hearing and at the previous hearing on the application by the Public Works Department to vacate the portion of Hadlock Road just to the north leads the Hearing Examiner to the conclusion that Old Hadlock Road is widely used for nonvehicular transportation. In its recommendation on the vacation application for the right-of-way to the south, the Hearing Examiner recommended that the applicant be required to preserve and maintain a trail within an easement within the right-of-way for nonvehicular transportation. The Public Works Department testified that Chimacum Road adjacent to the area that it proposes to vacate will be improved with a walking path. This recommendation includes a condition that would require the walking path to be separated from Chimacum Road and within the Jefferson County Findings, Conclusions, Street Vacation Application - 6 - and Recommendation area proposed for the vacation. The condition would further require that any walkway provided as a result of this vacation be connected to the trail or easement in the portion of the right-of-way to the north, if the Board of County Commissioners adopts the recommendation of the Hearing Examiner to vacate that road portion. 6. The right-of-way does not abut a body of salt or fresh water, or, if it does, the vacation is being sought by a public authority for a public purpose or the abutting property is zoned industrial. The right-of-way does not abut a body of salt or fresh water. 7 . The proposed vacation will not land lock any parcel of property. All of the property that abuts the area that the County seeks to vacate is owned by a single owner (Hayden Development Company, Inc) . The property owned by it will continue to have access from Chimacum Road. Compensation Requirement: In addition, to requiring street vacations to meet the criteria of Section 5, the Street Vacation Ordinance requires street vacations to meet the compensation requirements of Section 6. The Hearing Examiner has reviewed the proposed vacation and the evidence of record with regard to this requirement and makes the following findings and conclusions: It is the Hearing Examiner's understanding that Hayden Development Company, Inc. will compensate the County for the right-of-way if the vacation is granted. It is the Hearing Examiner's further understanding that the compensation will consist of the dedication of land needed to create the new intersection. According to the County Assessor's Office the area that the County proposes to vacate has an assessed value of approximately $3, 000.00. The Assessor's Office has not given any estimated value of the area that will be dedicated. This decision requires the applicant or Hayden Development Company to obtain an estimate of the value of the area, and if its value is less than the area that will be vacated, to make up the difference with additional compensation. Jefferson County Findings,Conclusions, Street Vacation Application - 7 - and Recommendation • • RECOMMENDATION Based on the findings and conclusions above, it is the recommendation of the Hearing Examiner that the Board of County Commissioners APPROVE the application of Jefferson County to vacate that portion of Hadlock Road west of and adjacent to Chimacum Road subject to the following conditions: 1 . The applicant shall reserve an easement within the right-of-way for trail purposes. Prior to or in conjunction with vacating the right-of-way the applicant shall construct a trail that is suitable for walking, bicycling, and horse use. The trail shall be separated from Chimacum Road. It shall connect with any trail that might be provided within the right-of-way to the north, if it is vacated. It shall also connect to the unvacated portion of Old Hadlock Road to the south. 2 . Prior to the road being vacated, Hayden Development Company shall dedicate by statutory warranty deed land needed for the construction of a right-of-way for a new intersection connecting Chimacum Road to Old Hadlock Road. Hayden Development Company, Inc. or the Public Works Department shall obtain an assessment of the value of the property from either the County Assessor's Office or a private appraiser. If the estimated value of the area to be dedicated does not satisfy the compensation requirements of Section 6 of the Jefferson County Road Vacation Ordinance, Hayden Development Company, Inc. shall pay for the difference by making a cash payment to the County or by some other method acceptable to the County. DATED this 21 day of January, 1993 . Ca D. Hintz Hea ng Examiner for Jeffers n County Jefferson County Findings, Conclusions, Street Vacation Application - 8 - and Recommendation , . . • • A copy o e otice of this decision was transmitted on the ,J day of da '� 1993, by the Jefferson County Public Works Department to the following: Leon Lopeman 170 Lopeman Road Hadlock, WA 98368 Douglas Joyce 990 Old Hadlock Road Hadlock, WA 98368 Wayne Moran 760 Chimacum Road Hadlock, WA 98368 William Promisel Hayden Development, Inc. 10 Montgomery Court Port Ludlow, WA 98365 Michael Anderson 270 West Maude Street Port Hadlock, WA 98339 Jefferson County Findings, Conclusions, Street Vacation Application - 9 - . and Recommendation