ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2027
(By Delegates Faircloth and Manuel)
[Passed March 2, 1995; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact sections one, two and three, article
twelve-a, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
state and public roads; defining terms; establishment of
maintenance associations along state or public roads in
unincorporated areas; the installation of street lights as
a permissible improvement by maintenance associations;
requiring approval of the commissioner of highways for
improvements to the state road system; authorizing
petitions for state and public road maintenance, public
hearings and notice requirements; right of appeal and
requirement to post bond.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one, two and three, article twelve-a, chapter
seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 12A. MAINTENANCE ASSOCIATIONS.
§7-12A-1. Definitions.
In this article the following terms shall have the meanings
ascribed to them:
(1) "Expressway" means a road that serves major intrastate and
interstate travel, including federal interstate routes.
(2) "Feeder" means a road that serves community to community
travel or collects and feeds traffic to the higher systems or both.
(3) "Maintenance association" means an association established
pursuant to the requirements of this article.
(4) "Maintenance association member" means any person owning
residential property that fronts on either side of a road which is
designated by a maintenance association document.
(5) "Maintenance association documents" means documents
approved by the county commission as meeting the requirements of
this article and filed with the clerk of the county commission.
(6) "Park and forest road" means a road that serves travel
within state parks, state forests and public hunting and fishing
areas.
(7) "Public roads" means all roads and bridges under the
control of the county commission or the governing body of a
municipality.
(8) "State local service road" means localized arterial and
spur roads which provide land access and socioeconomic benefits to
abutting properties.
(9) "State road" means and includes all roads classified and prescribed as either expressway, trunkline, feeder, park and forest
or state local service" roads.
(10) "State road system" means roads that are functionally
classified into five categories as follows: (1) Expressway; (2)
trunkline; (3) feeder; (4) state local service; and (5) park and
forest.
(11) "Trunkline" means a road that serves major city to city
travel.
§7-12A-2. Purpose of the maintenance association.
Maintenance associations may be established in any county
outside an incorporated area to protect the health, safety and
welfare of persons and the general public located within the
designated maintenance association area. The maintenance
association shall be created with the objective of establishing and
maintaining improvements for the area designated in a petition
filed pursuant to section three of this article, which may include
constructing and maintaining shared streets, drainage facilities,
sidewalks, water and sewer systems, signs, street lights and other
improvements necessary for the protection of health, safety and
welfare of the general public:
Provided, That such improvements
made to the state road system shall be made only as specified and
approved by the commissioner of highways.
§7-12A-3. Petition to establish maintenance association.
(a) A petition in writing may be made to the county commission
that duly verifies that sixty percent of the persons owning property on both sides of any orphan road, subdivision road, state
road or public road in any unincorporated area request the approval
of the formation of a maintenance association. The petition shall
be accompanied by the proposed maintenance association's recordable
documents that establish the association.
(b) Upon the filing of such petition and the proposed
maintenance association documents, the county commission shall fix
a time and place for hearing protests and shall require the
petitioners to post notice of such hearing in at least two
conspicuous places on the state road, public road, orphan road or
subdivision road of the area affected, and to give notice thereof
by publication of such notice as a Class I legal advertisement in
compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine
of this code. The publication area for such publication shall be
the county in which the maintenance association shall be located.
The hearing shall be held not less than ten nor more than thirty
days after the filing of such petition.
(c) At the time and place set for hearing protests, the county
commission may examine witnesses and consider other evidence to
show that:
(1) Said petition was filed in good faith;
(2) The signatures on the petition are genuine;
(3) The maintenance association document addresses the
maintenance association purpose; and
(4) The proposed maintenance association will result in special benefits to all owners of residential property abutting on
said orphan road, subdivision road, state road or public road.
The commission shall within ten days thereafter enter a formal
order stating its decision.
(d) Any owner of residential property abutting upon said
orphan road, subdivision road, state road or public road aggrieved
by such order shall have the right to review the order on the
record made before the county commission by filing a petition with
the clerk of the circuit court within ten days after the entry of
such order. The owner shall give bond in an amount to be fixed by
the circuit court sufficient to pay costs or expenses incurred by
the court and the maintenance association upon appeal if the order
of the county commission is affirmed. The circuit court shall
proceed to review the matter as in other appeals from the county
commission.