Last month I wrote about an intriguing little problem that TriMet is facing with the Milwaukie light rail line near the proposed Park Avenue Station, the south end of the line. That station is in an area without dense housing and major employers, and doesn't have a lot of innate demand for transit. TriMet intends to build a 355-space park and ride across Park Avenue from the station.
A county street, SE 27th Place (classified as a local access road under ORS Chapter 368, I think), runs through the middle of the park and ride site, and TriMet will need to persuade Clackamas County to vacate 27th Place if it is to build the garage. I had written that because of last year's light rail initiative that prohibits the county from providing resources to light rail without a prior vote of the people, the county won't be able to vacate the street without first holding an election, unless it waits until TriMet acquires title to the adjoining property and then vacates the street on the petition of TriMet, in its capacity as the adjoining landowner.
I've discovered that TriMet's conundrum is even more complicated. Clackamas County requires people who petition to vacate a street to state why they want to vacate the street. TriMet will have to say that it wants to vacate the street to construct a park and ride garage for the Park Street Station. That itself makes the initiative kick in; if TriMet waits to ask to vacate the street until it owns the rest of the property, the county will have to put the street vacation up to a vote of the people.
Could TriMet ask to vacate the street before it buys the adjoining property? ORS 368.326 and following sections authorize counties to vacate property, with some limitations. A county has three ways to vacate a road, set out at ORS 368.341. The county can vacate a road by adopting a resolutoin to vacate the road, but must include in the resolution the reason for vacating the road. Is the reason to build a light rail facility? That means that Clackamas County must then hold an election before it vacates the road.
Alternatively, the owner of the underlying property can file a petition (some public roads are actually public easements over private lands), or the owner of adjoining property can file a petition. In either case the petitions must be signed by the owners of 60% of the property that adjoins the road to be vacated.
And there's the rub. TriMet doesn't own the adjoining property, and may not own it for six months or a year. It can't sign a petition to vacate 27th Place, and it can't make the landowners sign a petition. Once TriMet acquires the rest of the land for the Park Avenue Garage, it will need to get a vote of the people of Clackamas County before it can get the street vacated so that it can build the garage.
Could TriMet build the garage in the public street without having it vacated first? ORS 267.225 (part of the statutes under which TriMet was formed) gives TriMet the authority to enter into agreements with other governments for the joint use of right of way owned by the other government. So Clackamas County could let TriMet use SE 27th Place -- as long as Clackamas County (i.e., the public) gets to continue traveling on SE 27th Place, meaning through the middle of the garage. The same statute lets TriMet condemn the right-of-way, but requires the court that approves the condemnation to let the other government unit (again, Clackamas County, the public) continue to use the right of way also.
It's a pretty pickle for TriMet. It can build the Park Avenue station, but maybe not the parking garage that gives the station a purpose. Keep watching.