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Street and Road Vacation Procedures

This page provides a brief overview of road and street vacation procedures for cities and counties in Washington State, including statutory requirements and sample documents.

Overview

A street or road vacation occurs when a local government relinquishes its interest in a public right-of-way (ROW) or a public service easement on a piece of property.

A street vacation does not necessarily remove all encumbrances from the area vacated. For example, if utilities are located in the area that was vacated, easements may be reserved so the utilities can stay in place and remain accessible in the future.

How Do Street Vacations Work?

Petitions to vacate a street are submitted in two different ways:

  • By the owners of property that abuts the ROW proposed to be vacated, or
  • By a local government when it initiates a street or ROW vacation process.

When a petition is submitted by private property owners, it must explain how the ROW has no future public use and how its loss will not adversely impact current or future public needs. A city, town, or county legislative body makes the final decision on proposed street vacation petitions and has broad discretion to grant, deny, or condition any approval of a street vacation request.

Regardless of how a petition is submitted, the abutting property owners may be required to pay compensation for all or a portion of the value of the public ROW, depending on the circumstances.

A local government can also reserve an easement, such as a utility easement, when vacating a ROW. If it does this, the easement reservation should be reflected in the appraised value of the ROW.

Statutes

Vacation of city or town streets is governed by Ch. 35.79 RCW, and vacation of county roads is governed by Ch. 36.87 RCW.

A road or street vacation is the termination of the public interest in an opened or unopened ROW, and it extinguishes the easement for public travel that is represented by the ROW. With most ROWs, city, town, and county governments hold an easement for public travel on lands designated or used as roads, streets, and alleys but do not generally own the fee title to the property underlining the ROW.

While the city, town, and county vacation statutes provide for similar procedures, there is one important difference: A petition by abutting property owners to initiate a city or town street vacation must be signed by owners of more than two-thirds of the property abutting the street to be vacated.

In contrast, a petition to initiate a county road vacation needs only be signed by owners of a majority of the frontage of the street to be vacated. A jurisdiction's legislative body may initiate a vacation for a street (i.e., cities and towns) or a road (i.e., counties).

Cities and towns may require compensation under RCW 35.79.030 in an amount up to one-half of the appraised value or up to the full appraised value in certain circumstances. Counties may require compensation of full appraised value or a percentage of appraised value, and compensation may be adjusted based on a variety of factors set forth in RCW 36.87.120.

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. It 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 the MRSC resources listed under Recommended Resources for more information.

Examples of Road and Street Vacation Procedures

Below are examples of street and road vacation documents from cities, towns, and counties in Washington State, including ordinances, procedures, and application forms.

Sample City/Town Code Provisions, Ordinances, and Resolutions

  • Asotin Municipal Code Ch. 12.28 – Street and Alley Vacation Procedures. Requires applicants submit a survey, vicinity map showing the general area of the proposed vacation, plat map prepared and sealed by a professional land surveyor indicating the specific parcels abutting the proposed street or alley to be vacated, and an exact legal description of the portion of road to be vacated.
  • Bainbridge Island Municipal Code Ch. 12.34 – Vacation of Streets and Alleys. Includes criteria to use when determining whether to vacate a street or alley; allows ordinances related to vacating to contain a provision retaining or requiring conveyance of easements for construction, repair, and maintenance of existing and future public utilities; allows the city council to initiate, by resolution, the vacation of any existing ROW.
  • Buckley Resolution No. 23-05 (2023) – Street vacation initiated by the city to make improvements for a pedestrian trail
  • Issaquah Municipal Code Ch. 12.20.060 – Title to vacated street or alley. Provides that any property falling within the limits of a vacated alley or street be transferred to abutting property owners.
  • Kirkland Municipal Code Ch. 19.16.200 – City use of revenue. Requires that one-half of the revenue received as compensation for vacated city property be dedicated to the acquisition, improvement, development, and related maintenance of public open space or transportation capital projects.
  • Lakewood Municipal Code Ch 12.05 – Dedications, Vacations, and Easements
  • Medina Resolution No. 432 (2023) – Petition for a vacation of a public ROW by adjacent private golf course; initiated by property owner.
  • Spokane Ordinance No. C36421 (2024) – Authorizing the vacation of Conklin St. south of 8th Ave.; petitioned by the Spokane Housing Authority.
  • Tumwater Resolution R2020-003 (2020) – Sets a public hearing for a street vacation petition; initiated by property owner.

Sample City/Town Guidelines and Policies

Sample County Code Provisions, Ordinances, and Resolutions

  • Clark County Code Ch. 12.28 – Road vacations. Requires payments received as compensation be credited to the county road fund.
  • Jefferson County Code Ch. 12.10 – Road vacations. Includes review criteria.
  • King County Ordinance No. 19995 (2025) – Initiated by a private property owner; authorizes the vacation of a portion of NE 122nd St. and NE 123rd St.
  • Okanogan County
    • County Code Ch. 12.90 – Vacation and Compensation for County Roads. Sets out a compensation schedule based on type of county road.
    • Resolution 109-2019 (2019) – Includes resolution and materials related to a vacation petition within the Town of Methow; initiated by Pateros School Board.
  • Snohomish County Code Ch. 13.100.110 – Modifies procedures for granting a vacation of a county road/ROW when the request is part of a land development application.

Sample County Guidelines and Policies

Recommended Resources


Last Modified: July 28, 2026