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.