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SUBJECTS › PUBLIC WORKS › Street Vacation Procedures
Updated 09/05

Street and Road Vacation Procedures

Contents

Introduction

Vacation of city street rights-of-way is governed by chapter 35.79 RCW, and vacation of county roads is governed by chapter 36.87 RCW.  A road or street vacation is the termination of the public interest in a right-of-way (opened or unopened); it extinguishes the easement for public travel that is represented by the right-of-way.  In the typical case, city and county governments hold an easement for public travel on lands designated or used as roads, streets, and alleys; they do not generally own the fee title to the property underling the right-of-way.

While the city and county vacation statutes provide for similar procedures, there is one important difference.  A petition by abutting property owners to initiate a city street vacation must be signed by more than two-thirds of the owners, while a petition to initiate a county road vacation need only be signed by a majority of the abutting property owners.  Both city street and county road vacations may be initiated by the legislative body.

Vacation of rights-of-way abutting bodies of water is governed by RCW 36.87.130 for counties and RCW 35.79.035 for cities and generally requires a detailed analysis of an agency's projected needs for waterfront access.

For roads that were platted, but unopened or unused prior to 1905, RCW 36.87.090 should be reviewed to determine if those old roads might have been automatically vacated by operation of law.  See also the article by Linda M.Youngs and Gail Gorud listed at the bottom of this page.

City Code Provisions

County Code Provisions

Other Documents

Library Resources (Paper copies only)

Library Loan Request Form

  • "Street vacation" by Emmett J. Shearer, Assistant City Attorney of Spokane in Legal Notes, Information Bulletin No. 462, December 1989
  • "Street Vacations and Ancient Rights of Way" by Linda M. Youngs and Gail Gorud in Legal Notes, Information Bulletin No. 484, October 1993