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City staff move forward on 5th & Webster right-of-way corrections; appraisal ordered for vacation request
Summary
Public works staff told the Mukilteo City Council they have ordered an appraisal for a vacation request affecting the curve near 5th and Webster and will schedule a hearing once the appraisal is complete; staff also outlined follow-ups on two adjoining parcels.
Public works staff told the Mukilteo City Council on March 9 that the city is advancing a multi-year effort to correct right-of-way lines on 5th and Webster Avenue, including a vacation request from a property owner group often referred to during the meeting as the Swiss Stacks.
“ We have come to a point in this process where we ordered the appraisal, which then gives us after we receive the appraisal, we have 45 days to set a council hearing, ” said Matt Nienhaus, the city’s public works director. He said the appraisal is in process and that staff will return to council to set the required public hearing and adopt an ordinance if the vacation proceeds.
Staff showed council a side-by-side comparison of online GIS parcels and recent survey data and said the surveyed line does not match the county GIS overlay. The discrepancy affects a curved section adjacent to the Mukilteo cemetery. Under the staff proposal the new curve would preserve the city’s required 60-foot right-of-way while vacating small areas where private owners have maintained landscaping.
Staff also described two related parcel issues. They said the city is considering acquiring a privately owned parcel (identified in materials as La Chapelle) because part of the road crosses that private land, and that the Davenport parcel has a long-standing agreement dating to the 1980s that grants adjoining owners sole use of a portion of the property. “They first acquired the property through a vacation request that was approved through ordinance … in late 1987,” a staff member noted during the presentation.
Staff explained the next steps: once the appraisal is received staff will have 45 days to place a resolution on a council agenda to set a public hearing and, within about 60 days after the hearing is set, hold the public hearing and consider an adoption ordinance. Council members asked clarifying questions about survey versus GIS lines and about the potential effect of a fence or other private improvements on the public right-of-way.
No formal action was taken at the work session; staff said they will return with the appraisal and recommended hearing dates.
