2002-02 VACATING RIGHT OF WAY - 200 BLOCK WEST NORTH STREET

Home Browse Search

ECONOMIC AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT MEMORANDUM No. 01-126 January 2, 2002 TO: Honorable Mayor Terry M. Howley and City Council Members FROM: Steve Ga City Manager A. J. Krieger Assistant City Manag ' Steve Van Steenhuyse, AICP,Plan �n anage'Yl Kathy J.Miller, AICP,Planner `r- 'F—�� I SUBJECT: Vacation of a ortion of the 200 Block of West North Street Right of Way P SLTMMARY RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the ordinance vacating 2635 square feet of the right of way adjacent to lots 1, 22, 23, and 24 in Block 7 of William Bandy's Addition. The City Plan Commission held a public hearing on the vacation at the December 6, 2001 meeting and voted unanimously to recommend approval of the vacation. The meeting minutes are attached. BACKGROUND: The petitioner wishes to vacate a portion of West North Street to construct a covered drop-off area and expand the church to include an accessible entry. The staff has worked with the petitioner to vacate only the necessary portion of the street. T'he portion of the right of way to be vacated has been reduced from the original submitted request. The current street alignment will remain in place. The center line is aligned on both sides of the North Street- Church Street intersection. Seven on-street parking spaces will be eliminated on the south side of West North Street in front of the church. On-street parking on the north side of West North Street in front of the church will remain. First United Methodist Church and the Masonic Temple owns the property on the south and north sides of the portion of the 200 Block of North Street to be vacated. A consent letter was received from the Masonic Temple agreeing to the vacation and purchase by the First United Methodist Church. POTENTIAL OBJECTIONS: There were no objectors to the request at the Plan Commission meeting. INPUT FROM OTHER SOURCES: Utility letters have been received from Illinois Power, Ameritech and Insight Communications stating no objection to the vacations. Utility providers requested that ingress and egress easements be reserved for utility maintenance. STAFF REFERENCES: If Council members have questions they may contact Kathy Miller at 424-2786 or at kjmiller@decaturnet.org. BUDGET/TIME IMPLICATIONS: An appraisal for the proposed street vacation was submitted by the petitioner with an estimated market value of $14,000 ($0.85 per square foot). The City obtained an appraisal for $11,000 ($0.66 per square foot). Since the original appraisal, the area to be vacated is reduced to 2635 square feet. The petitioner will pay the City of Decatur $2350 ($0.85 per square foot) for the vacation.