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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBIL 063 Draft 01 2022-2024 oJMyYFOF COUNTY OF HAWAVI STATE OF HAWAIJ •tro•, Ma MOii*\e BI �rE oF•N,.P I L 63 i ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 14, OFT E HAWAPI COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION,AS AMENDED), BY ADDING A NEW ARTICLE RELATING TO MAINTENANCE OF PRIVATE, NONDEDICATED, AND NON-SURRENDERED ROADS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Chapter 14, of the Hawaii County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended), is amended by adding a new article to be appropriately designated and to read as follows: "Article_. Maintenance of Private, Nondedicated, and Non-surrendered roads. Section 14-_. Purpose. Pursuant to HRS 265A-1, the council finds that there are private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered roads in Hawaii County that are open to the general public and necessary for public transportation. The council further finds that it is in the public interest that the County offer a means to assist in limited circumstances, in the maintenance of such roads. This option shall be made available upon request by the person or persons having the right to control the use of private, nondedicated, and non- surrendered roads, subject to the availability of funds and resources and satisfaction of criteria established in this article. It is not the council's intention that maintenance work conducted pursuant to this article on any private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered roads be deemed to constitute dedication or condemnation of such subject road to the public use. Section 14-_. Definitions. As used in this article, unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended: "County"means the County of Hawaii. "Department"means the department of public works of the County of Hawaii. "Director" means the director of the department of public works of the County of Hawaii or the director's duly authorized representative. i "Person or persons having the right to control the use"means the person or persons having the legal right to make decisions as to the use, improvement,repair and maintenance of a road or other property, sign agreements with respect thereto, and bind all other persons having rights in or to such road or other property, whether such other persons are owners of the fee title to the road or other property, are holders of roadway easements, or have some other interest in the road or other property. i "Private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered roads"means streets, roads, highways, ways, or lanes used for purposes of vehicular traffic that are owned, in whole or in part, by persons other than governmental entities and which have not been dedicated or surrendered to the County in accordance with section 264-1(e)(1) and (2), I4awai`i Revised Statutes. The term "private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered roads"includes any associated bridges and bicycle lanes as the latter term is defined in section 291C-1, Ilawai`i Revised Statutes, but does not include any trail or other nonvehicular right-of- way or any alley or bicycle path as those terms are defined in section 291C-1, Ilawai`i Revised Statutes. "Speed hump"means a gentle rise in the profile of the road that is used to regulate the speed of a vehicle. Section 14- . Powers and duties of director. Subject to the availability of appropriations, the director may: (1) In response to requests from a person or persons having the right to control the use of a private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered road, construct, place and remove surface maintenance, by either remedial patching, resurfacing, or paving, for those portions of private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered roads that have been determined by the director, in the director's discretion, to meet the criteria set forth in this article; (2) Determine the extent and design of, as well as the amount or type of materials to be used on the surface maintenance of any private, nondedicated, and non- surrendered road, or portion thereof, pursuant to this article; (3) Prioritize the maintenance of private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered roads that: (A) Were created or platted before December 21, 1966; (B) Can be utilized to develop emergency or alternate routes and thereby promote community safety and the public interest; or (C) Can be integrated into public transportation routes for mass transit, multi-modal transportation systems, or department of education bus routes; and (4) Adopt rules to implement and administer the provisions of this article. 2 Section 14-_. Control and liability. (a) The County shall neither be responsible nor liable for any personal injuries or property damage arising from the design or maintenance,pursuant to this article, of any private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered road. Further, the County makes no representation as to the safety or suitability of roads, maintained pursuant to this article, for public vehicular or nonvehicular transportation. l (b) Nothing contained in this article and no action undertaken pursuant to this article a i shall be construed as adoption, acceptance, or approval of a private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered road as a public highway. Section 14-_. Criteria for maintenance of private, nondedicated, and non- surrendered roads. Subject to the availability of appropriations, the department may maintain by either remedial patching,resurfacing, or paving those portions of private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered roads that have been determined by the director, to meet the following criteria: (1) The road has not been dedicated or surrendered to the County or any other governmental entity, and is not otherwise owned by the County or any other governmental entity; (2) The road is not maintained by any governmental entity other than the County pursuant to this article; (3) The road is open to, serves, and benefits the general public; (4) The road is not signed, marked, delineated, fenced, barricaded, or otherwise designed, constructed, or operated to exclude access by the general public, in whole or in part, which may be through such means as signs indicating that the road is a"private"road, or any restrictions on parking that are not applicable to all persons except as otherwise provided by law; (5) The road directly serves: (A) Fifty or more contiguous parcels; (B) Fifty or more residential structures; or (C) A parcel of land which has two or more condominium buildings or apartment buildings that contain twenty-four or more condominium or apartment units; (6) The road is not part of a cluster plan development, planned development, or similar type of development; (7) Maintenance of the road by the County will be practicable and safe; (8) The developer or subdivider of the road has not agreed to maintain the road in perpetuity; 3 (9) Maintenance of the road surface is necessary to protect the safety of motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians or is otherwise in the public interest; and (10) The road does not suffer such design defects as to make use of the road hazardous to the general public. Section 14-_. Process to request maintenance of private, nondedicated, and non- surrendered roads. (a) Persons collectively owning a sixty percent or greater interest in the fee title or an appropriate roadway easement in a private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered road may initiate and submit a written request to the director for the maintenance of the road. If the director determines that the private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered road satisfies the criteria set forth in this article,the director may, subject to the availability of appropriations, proceed to maintain the road, provided that the persons having the right to control the use of the road submit their written approval of the maintenance work. (b) The persons having the right to control the use of the private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered road must agree to such terms, conditions, and covenants as may be determined by the director to be for the convenience and protection of the County and the public, including the granting of necessary easements; provided that the persons having the right to control the use of the road must agree that for as long as the city maintains the road surface or for the period of time specified in the agreement, whichever is longer, they shall: (1) Keep the road open to the general public; and (2) Keep the road, and any adjacent sidewalk areas, free of obstructions and clear of debris that would prevent the safe passage of motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. (c) The requirement for a written request, approval, and agreement will not apply, however, to: (1) a road over which the department exercises surface maintenance responsibilities on the day prior to December 19, 1996; or (2) a road that the County determines has been dedicated by implication to public use for roadway purposes. (d) Nothing contained in this article shall be construed as prohibiting the director from requiring a written approval and agreement for new maintenance work on roads over which the department exercises surface maintenance responsibilities on the day prior to December 19, 1996, if the director determines that such an agreement is in the best interests of the County. 4 Section 1 -_ Maintenance work upon private, nondedicated, and non- surrendered roads. (a) Private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered roads that are paved shall be maintained by remedial patching. Remedialpatching shall be with like materials, for example: (1) Asphalt concrete shall be used for asphalt concrete paved roads; and (2) Portland cement concrete or asphalt concrete, as determined by the director shall be used for Portland cement concrete paved roads. (b) If the director determines that the pavement is in such poor condition that remedial patching is impractical and not cost effective, resurfacing may be provided. 3 (c) Private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered roads that are unpaved shall be maintained by remedial patching. Remedial patching shall be with like materials, for example, coral for coral, and crushed rock for crushed rock. If the director determines that the road surface is in such poor condition that remedial patching is not cost effective and does not serve the best interests of motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians, paving with asphalt concrete material may be provided. (d) The decks of bridges associated with private, nondedicated, and non-surrendered roads may be maintained by remedial repairs. Remedial repairs shall be with like materials, for example, deteriorated wood planks shall be replaced with wood planks. If the director determines that the deck is in such poor condition that remedial repairs are impractical and not cost effective, the deck may be replaced with like material. The director may also provide for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of railings. (e) Maintenance work to be performed by the County pursuant to this article shall not include installation or maintenance of curbs, shoulders, gutters, drainage facilities, or similar infrastructure; provided that speed humps that are removed as part of the County's maintenance of private roads may be reinstalled by the County if the director determines that the conditions for installation have been met. Prior to the removal of speed humps as part of the County's maintenance of private roads, the director must notify persons residing within the immediate vicinity and persons having the right to control the use of the portion of the private road on which the speed humps are located of the removal of the speed humps and explain in writing to such persons conditions under which the County may reinstall the speed humps. Section 14-_. Discontinuance of maintenance of private, nondedicated, and non- surrendered roads. (a) The director shall discontinue maintenance of specific private, nondedicated, and non- surrendered roads, when the director determines that such roads no longer meet all criteria set forth in this article or when requested in writing by the persons having the right to control the use of the road. Prior to discontinuing maintenance of any private, 5 nondedicated, and non-surrendered road, the director shall provide each owner and roadway easement holder of record of the road with thirty days written notice of such proposed action. 3 (b) Where maintenance is discontinued because the road is signed, marked, delineated, fenced, barricaded, or otherwise designed, constructed, or operated to exclude the general public, in whole or in part, the director is authorized, in the director's discretion and to the extent legally and economically feasible, to: (1) Recover removable fixtures or materials, if any, installed by the County, and to 3 recover from the owners or roadway easement holders of the road, as may be appropriate,the value of the fixtures or materials left in place; and (2) Recover from the owners or roadway easement holders the total cost incurred by the County for paving or other maintenance work done pursuant to this article within the five-year period preceding the closure of the road to the public. The owners or roadway easement holders of the road may avoid liability for the costs by making signage, design, construction, operational, or other changes, or any necessary combination thereof, to again open the road to the general public and meet all criteria set forth in this article." SECTION 2. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are severable. SECTION 3. This ordinance shall take effect upon its approval. INTRODUCED BY: COUNCIL CIL MBER, CO TY OF HAWAII Hawaii Date of Introduction: Date of 1 st Reading: Date of 2nd Reading: Effective Date: 6 REFERENCE Comm. 395