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A. The town may not vacate a street or alley if any portion of the street or alley abuts a body of fresh or salt water unless:

1. The vacation is sought to enable the town to acquire the property for port purposes, beach or water access purposes, boat moorage or launching sites, park, public view, recreation, or educational purposes, or other public uses;

2. The town council by resolution declares that the street or alley is not presently being used as a street or alley and that the street or alley is not suitable for any of the following purposes: port, beach or water access, boat moorage, launching sites, park, public view, recreation, or education; or

3. The vacation is sought to enable the town to implement a plan, adopted by resolution or ordinance, that provides comparable or improved public access to the same shoreline area to which the street or alley sought to be vacated abuts, had the properties included in the plan not been vacated.

B. Before adopting a resolution vacating a street or alley under subsection (A)(2) of this section, the town must:

1. Compile an inventory of all rights-of-way within the town that are abutted by the same body of water that is abutted by the street or alley sought to be vacated;

2. Conduct a study to determine if the street or alley to be vacated is suitable for use by the town for any of the following purposes: port, boat moorage, launching sites, beach or water access, park, public view, recreation, or education;

3. Hold a public hearing on the proposed vacation in the manner required by this chapter, where in addition to the normal requirements for publishing notice, notice of the public hearing is posted conspicuously on the street or alley sought to be vacated, which posted notice indicates that the area is public access, it is proposed to be vacated, and that anyone objecting to the proposed vacation should attend the public hearing or send a letter to a particular official indicating his or her objection; and

4. Make a finding that the street or alley sought to be vacated is not suitable for any of the purposes listed under subsection (A)(2) of this section, and that the vacation is in the public interest.

C. No vacation will be effective until the fair market value has been paid for the street or alley that is vacated. The town may only use the money received from the vacation for acquiring additional beach or water access, acquiring additional public view sites to a body of water, or acquiring additional moorage or launching sites. [Ord. 378 § 2 (Exh. 1), 1999.]