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KITTITAS COUNTY <br />DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS <br />PUBLIC WORKS — BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />STUDY SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />STUDY SESSION DATE: May 24, 2021 <br />TOPIC: Private Road Certification List <br />ACTION REQUESTED: Direct Staff <br />LEAD STAFF: <br />Mark R. Cook <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Direct staff post a listing of private road certifications on the Department's website and <br />notice local realtor agencies. <br />BRIEFING SUMMARY: <br />• Local realtor agencies are expressing ignorance of Public Works requirement for <br />private road certifications. <br />• Public Works has prepared a product for realtor and public use and proposes <br />placing this product on the Department's website. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Private road certifications (completed by a licensed professional civil engineer) have <br />been required since the 2005 Road Standards. Numerous plats (long and short) do not <br />have certified road documentation in our Department road files. Recently, a pending real <br />estate transaction revealed the lack of widespread knowledge and understanding of this <br />requirement in County Code. Addressing the issue, staff has prepared a listing of all <br />known plats with and without private road certifications in our private road files. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />Posting a listing of private road certifications for public review is expected to limit <br />confusion and blame resulting from prospective land purchasers in the County. It is <br />common for the Department to require land buyers certify private roads as a condition of <br />receiving an access permit from Public Works. We generally work with area engineers <br />accomplishing the requirement as many of these private roads are well established. The <br />requirement speaks to our commitment to the Fire/Life/Safety community to maintain <br />safe access for emergency responders. Associated with private road certification, is our <br />growing business of private bridge evaluation. Increasingly, we find ourselves working <br />with prospective County residents having to bring dilapidated private bridges to the <br />required carrying capacity of 75,000 pounds. <br />Unfortunately, past practice did not involve Public Works inspection ahead of access <br />permit issuance (prior to 2015) on private roads. The increasing demand for safe access <br />Page 1 of 3 <br />Public Works "Work Session Staff Report", 2021 <br />