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Introduced Version House Bill 3332 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 3332


(By Delegates Roberts, Blair, Overington, Duke and Tabb)
[Introduced March 25, 2005; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions then the Judiciary.]




A BILL authorizing the county commission of Berkely County and the incorporated municipalities therein to adopt official maps; preparation of such maps; adoption; modification; periodic review and readoption; consultation with State Division of highways; permits; and appeal from adverse rulings.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

BERKELY COUNTY OFFICIAL MAPS.

§1. Official maps.

The county commission of Berkely County and the governing body of any municipality therein are hereby empowered, after receiving the advice of their local planning commission, to adopt and establish an official map of the county or municipality showing the public highways, streets and roads (hereinafter referred to as streets); public streams, drainage ways and flood plains (hereinafter referred to as waterways); public parks, parkways, school sites, playgrounds, sites for public buildings or public works including subsurface facilities and utilities (hereinafter referred to as public areas) in which the acquisition, financing, or construction of which the municipal, county, or state government has participated or may be called upon to participate.
§2. Preparation of official maps.

The planning commission of Berkely County or a municipality therein may make, or cause to be made, an official map showing the locations of:
(a) Legally established public streets, waterways, and public areas of the county or municipality; and
(b) Future or proposed public streets, waterways and public areas.
The placing of any street or future or proposed street line upon the official map shall not be deemed to constitute the opening or establishment of any street, nor the taking or acceptance of any land for street purposes, nor shall it obligate the county or the municipality either to improve or maintain any such street. Nor shall the inclusion of proposed waterways or public areas be deemed a taking or acceptance of any land for public purpose.
No future or proposed street or street line, waterway, nor public area, shall be shown on an official map unless the centerline of such street, the course of such waterway, or the metes and bounds of such public area, have been fixed or determined in relation to known, fixed and permanent monuments by a physical survey or aerial photographic survey thereof. In addition to the centerline of each street, the map shall indicate the width of the right-of-way thereof. Local planning commissions are hereby empowered to make or cause to be made the surveys required under the provisions of this section.
The responsibility of coordinating the municipal official maps and the county official maps shall lie with the county planning commission.
§3. Adoption of official map.

After such map has been prepared and recommended by the local planning commission it shall be certified by the planning commission to the county commission of Berkely County or to the governing body of the municipality. The county commission or governing body may then approve and adopt the same by a majority vote of the membership thereof and publish it as the official map of the county or municipality. No official map shall be adopted by or have any effect until approved by ordinance duly passed by the county commission or governing body of the municipality after a public hearing, preceded by public notice, to be published at least thirty days prior to the public hearing as a Class I publication.
Within thirty days after adoption of the official map the county commission or governing body shall cause it to be filed in the office of the clerk of the county commission.
§4. Additions and modifications.

After adoption of the official map, all streets, waterways, and public areas on subsequently recorded plats of subdivisions shall be deemed additions or modifications of the official map and shall be placed thereon. No public hearing need be held or notice given in this instance.
The county commission or governing body may by ordinance make, from time to time, other additions to or modifications of the official map by placing thereon the location of proposed streets, street widenings or street vacations, waterways and public areas in accordance with the following procedures:
(a) Prior to making any such additions or modifications to the official map, the county commission or governing body shall refer the same to their local planning commission for its consideration. The planning commission shall take action on such proposed additions or modifications within sixty days and report its recommendations to the governing body.
(b) Upon the receipt of the report of the planning commission, the county commission or governing body shall hold a public hearing on the proposed addition or modification to the official map and shall give public notice at least fifteen days prior to such hearing. All such reports of the planning commission, when delivered to the county commission or the governing body, shall be available for public inspection.
(c) The planning commission may propose additions or modifications to the official map by initiating recommendations to the county commission or governing body. If the county commission or governing body agrees with the need for the additions or modifications recommended by the planning commission, the procedures stated in subdivision (b) above, shall be followed.
(d) Any ordinance embodying additions to or modifications of the official map shall be adopted by at least the vote required for original adoption of the official map. After the public hearing and the final passage of such ordinance, the additions or modifications shall become a part of the official map of the county or municipality. All changes, additions or modifications of the official map shall be filed with the clerk of the county commission.
§5. Periodic review and readoption.

The official map and any additions thereto or modifications thereof shall be reviewed within not more than five years from the date of adoption or readoption of the map by the county commission or governing body. The procedure by the local planning commission and the county commission or governing body in connection with such review shall conform to that prescribed as to the original adoption of the map. Neither the official map nor any additions thereto or modifications thereof shall be of any force or effect for more than five years after adoption or readoption of the map unless readopted by the county commission or governing body in accordance herewith.
§6. Consultation with State Division of Highways.

During the preparation of an official map the local planning commission shall consult with the State Division of Highways as to any streets under the jurisdiction of the highway department, and prior to recommendation of the map to the county commission or governing body it shall submit the same to the highway department for comment. Any recommendations of the highway department, not incorporated in the official map, shall be forwarded to the county commission or governing body when the map is recommended by the local planning commission. When any county or municipality has adopted an official map in accordance with this article a certified copy of the map and ordinance adopting it shall be sent to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways.
§7. Permits.

Any person desiring to construct, alter or rebuild any structure in the area marked upon the official map as an existing or proposed street, waterway or public area must apply for a permit to the local planning commission and disclose the specific information required by that commission. Unless such application is made and the permit granted or not denied within thirty days, such person shall not be entitled to compensation for damage to such structure in the course of construction of any street, waterway or public area. The local planning commission in considering the application for a permit for a structure intruding into an area marked on the official map as an existing or proposed public improvement, may grant such a permit if the proposed structure will as little as practicable increase the cost of the public improvement or tend to cause a change of such official map, and the planning commission may impose reasonable requirements as a condition of granting such permit.
§8. Appeal.

If the improvement location permit is denied, the applicant may appeal the denial to the county commission or local governing body or their designated appellant agency. The appellant agency shall refuse the permit where the applicant will not be substantially damaged by placing his or her structure outside the mapped street, waterway or public area. Any decision of the appellant agency shall be subject to review upon petition to the circuit court of Berkely County.



NOTE:
This local bill authorizes the county commission of Berkely County or any municipality within that county to adopt official maps that show the location of all proposed street, waterway and public use areas so that new private improvements will not infringe on these locations thus increasing the cost to the taxpayer when rights-of-way are acquired later.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.

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