The Planning Division is requesting that the City Council hold a public hearing and approve a Resolution to Exclude Territory to deannex the portion of Broadwater Avenue located between 56th Street West and 58th Street West. The deannexation will result in the vacation and disposition of the road tract and the title will revert to the owners of the adjacent property pursuant to 7-2-4808, MCA. The road tract was previously annexed as part of the Trails West Subdivision annexation. The subdividers agreed to pursue abandonment of the road tract as part of the subdivision process when the road tract was owned by the County. It was discovered after the preliminary plat was approved, that the City annexed this road tract in 2007. In order to achieve the final objective of transferring the tract to the adjoining property owners, it is necessary to deannex the road tract. The road tract is currently used as a private driveway. Once the property is conveyed to the adjoining land owners, a temporary access easement will be recorded to ensure legal access to those lots and land west of 58th Street West until which time the proposed new access (Stockman Trail) is developed in the Trails West Subdivision future filings. Upon dedication and construction of Stockman Trail, the temporary access easement will convert to a permanent easement restricting access to the adjoining lots only.

The road tract is 30 feet wide and 1,304 feet long. It has a gravel surface and does not meet City standards. The requested deannexation is consistent with the City’s deannexation policy in that:
1. The property is not currently connected to City water, wastewater or storm drainage facilities, and cannot connect to these facilities without an unreasonable expenditure of personal or public funds, and
2. The property is not adjacent to public rights-of-way (upon vacation and deannexation of this road tract, the property will not be adjacent to any City right-of-way), and
3. The property is not encumbered by any indebtedness of any improvement district of which the territory is a part, and
4. The property is located on the outer perimeter of the City limits and upon exclusion of the property will not result in a parcel wholly surrounded by City limits, and
5. The property is not adjacent to acceptable limits of annexation as defined on the most recent update of the Limits of Annexation Map.

A 20-day public comment period beginning July 15 was legally noticed on July 15 and July 22. No comments have been received as of August 9, 2010.

Council may:
• Approve the Resolution to Exclude Territory to deannex the above-mentioned road tract; or
• Not approve the Resolution to Exclude Territory.

There is no financial impact to approving the Resolution to Exclude Territory as the property to be annexed is public right of way.

Staff recommends that Council approve the Resolution to Exclude the portion of Broadwater Avenue between 56th Street West and 58th Street West from the city limits.