Town of Elkton, VA Closure of Public Streets or Alleys

A public street or alley may be temporarily closed if the following procedures are met:

Request may be on motion from the Town Council or on written application of any person to the Town Manager, or his/her designated representative, at least 30 days prior to the requested closure date.

(2)

The closure is for a purpose that benefits the Town population (can also be for a nonpublic purpose).

(3)

The closure does not create a long-term impact on the adjacent property owners.

(4)

There is a defined period of closure, not to exceed 365 days.

(5)

Traffic is not diverted in a manner that would cause undue congestion in other areas, as verified by the Chief of Police.

(6)

At the conclusion of the closure period, the street or alley is returned to a status that is at least as good as the original condition by the party that requested the temporary closure.

The Town Manager, or his/her designated representative, may issue a permit for temporary closure when in his/her judgment the public safety so requires. Such temporary closure shall not extend past the time of the next Town Council meeting. The Town Council may issue a permit for any other temporary closures.

Closures can be renewed if deemed necessary by Town Council.

A public street or alley may be permanently closed if the following procedures are met:

Request may be on motion from the Town Council or on written application of any person to the Town Manager or his/her designated representative. The request must provide information on why the street or alley should be closed, impact on neighboring property and the benefit of closure to the Town. The application shall contain the signatures of all abutting property owners along the public street or alley, stating their approval of the closure.

A fee of $100 shall be paid to the Town for the processing of an application for the vacation of any public street or alley. The application shall not be received unless such fee is paid at the time the application is filed.

The Town Manager, or his/her designated representative, must certify that the street/alley has no useful purpose to the Town or its residents by nature of current use, zoning, cost of closing, or point of origin and/or destination.

Notice of the intention to vacate a public street or alley must be published at least twice, with at least six days elapsing between first and second publication, in a newspaper having general circulation in the locality. The notice shall specify the time and place of a hearing at which persons affected may appear and be heard. The cost of publishing the notice shall be taxed to the applicant.

Request will be reviewed by the Planning Commission, the Elkton Police Department and the Elkton Volunteer Fire Company for their comments and recommendations.

After the public hearing review by the other departments and after all affected landowners along the public street or alley have been notified, the Planning Commission will forward its recommendation to the Town Council.

After receiving a recommendation from the Planning Commission the Town Council may discontinue the public street or alley.

Unless otherwise provided by the Town Council, as a condition of the vacation of any public street or alley, the abutting property owner or owners shall provide the Town with a certified survey of the public street or alley and purchase from the Town such abutting property owner's fractional portion of the public street or alley. The price shall be no greater than the property's fair market value or its contributory value to the abutting property, whichever is greater, or the amount agreed to by the parties. No such vacation shall be concluded until the agreed price has been paid. If any abutting property owner does not pay for such owner's fractional portion within one year, or other time period made a condition of the vacation, then the vacation shall be void, unless another abutting property owner, whose property must be contiguous, purchases the unpaid fractional portion.