2013-74 VACATING PUBLIC WALKWAY RIGHT-OF-WAY - SOUTHMORELAND PLACE

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Morrison 60 Eastmoreland Ct Decatur IL 6252 July 31, 2013 Decatur City Planning Commission Decatur IL 62521 RE: Petition to vacate public sidewalk, steps in Southmoreland Subdivision Dear Committee members, Our names are Steven and Norma Morrison, and we live in EastmorE land Subdivision, adjacent to Southmoreland Subdivison. We received a call from the City informing us that there is a petition to vacate the public sidewalk, and steps that lead from Ea tmoreland Subdivision to Southmoreland Subdivision. We apologize for not attending the meeting scheduled for August 1, however, Norma is recovering from surgery, and Steve is out of town on business. We ask that you review our letter in your determination for vacate this property. We have lived in Decatur for almost 13 years, the entire time in East oreland. During this time we have walked our dogs in Southmoreland, using this sidewalk, steps. This is the safest route, as we live near Lost Bridge Rd, which is dangerous to cross due to speeders, and bends in the road, and drivers have poor visibility for pedestrians. Last year residents of Southmoreland installed a metal gate with a coded access that only Southmoreland residents had the code. This meant we were unable to use this sidewalk however their residents had full access. Southmoreland Homeowner Association representative called us to ask why we wanted the gate unlocked, as they wish to keep the "riff-raff" out of theirsubdivision. This same representative stated they had obtained a permit for the gate (they didn't), however didn't have the permit "details" at the time of their call to us. It took the City several months to get Southmoreland to open the gate, by chaining it open to a tree. The sidewalk/steps should continue to stay public for the following r asons: • Residents on both sides of the sidewalk were aware of its presence when they bought their properties, and the fact it was public. • Residents from Southmoreland currently use the sidewalk, st ps to run/walk through Eastmoreland on their way to the lakefront. • This is the only sidewalk access to Southmoreland. • Southmoreland is not a gated community, and a public sidewalk should not be privatized as it would in a gated community.