§ 19. STREET ABANDONMENT

A.

All persons desiring to have the City exercise its powers regarding an abandoning, altering, closing and vacating streets, alleys and other public ways and portions thereof, shall file their request with the City Secretary, in writing, directed to the City Council. Such request shall contain a legal description of the street, alley or portion thereof, and attached to said request shall be the names of all owners abutting said street, alley or portion thereof, together with the last known mailing address of all such owners. In the event that all abutting property owners do not join in said request, a statement shall be attached to said request showing the reason for nonparticipation. The tax rolls shall be conclusive as to the names of the abutting property owners for the purpose of this section.

B.

Upon filing of such request and payment of a non-refundable filing fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00), the City Secretary shall mail notices of said request and release forms to all abutting property owners. In addition, the City Secretary shall mail notices of said request to all utility companies (phone, electric, gas, cable, drainage, water and sewer). In the event the request is for only a portion of a through street, alley or public way which is open to public access from either direction, then the City Secretary shall also notify the abutting and adjoining property owners for that portion which is to remain open in either direction up to the next intersection with another street, alley or public way. The City Tax Assessor Collector shall certify whether or not the requestor and all abutting property owners are current in the payment of City ad valorem taxes.

C.

Streets or alleys whether owned by the City of Santa Fe or whether such streets or alleys are designed by easements, only when abandoned, shall then belong properly to the owner or owners of the abutting property. In order to abandon any street or alley or portion thereof, all property owners abutting said street or alley or portion thereof to be closed shall have consented to the abandonment or such abandonment shall not be approved by the City Council. Consent by the abutting and adjoining property owners for that portion which is to remain open is not required. No street or alley or portion thereof shall be abandoned until a survey of the property that is the subject of the abandonment request has been provided to the City by the requestor, and an additional payment of one hundred dollars ($100.00) or the appraised market value of the street or alley or portion thereof based upon at least one bona fide appraisal by an appraiser selected by the City at petitioner's expense, whichever is greater. After abandonment of such street or alley or portion thereof, the City will deliver a deed without warranty to the owners as to their proportionate ownership interest, upon payment of their proportionate share of the market value of the street, alley, public way, or portion thereof. The market value or proportionate ownership going to the abutting property owner of any street or alley or portion thereof shall ultimately be approved by the City Council. The preparation of all transfer documents shall be at the expense of petitioner. Recipients of such deeds shall be required to record their deeds with the County Clerk and to render the acquired property to the Central Appraisal District.

D.

Upon fulfillment of the requirements of Subsections A and B, the City Secretary shall submit said request to the Planning Commission for its recommendation to the City Council. The Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing and formulate its recommendation to the City Council within sixty (60) days from receipt of said petition.

E.

This section shall not be construed to give any person the vested right to compel the City to abandon or vacate a street or alley or portion thereof.

(Ordinance No. 05-91 of April 11, 1991; Ordinance No. 13-2003 of April 24, 2003; Ordinance No. 09-2008 of May 22, 2008)