Item A: Ordinances on Alley Vacation Between 13th and 15th Avenues

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rerouted from Villard Alley to the street by a new public utility easement as proposed by the University. It is noted that no buildings or structures would be allowed in the new location that would conflict with the public utility easement. How was it decided how much the University would need to pay the City for the right of way, if it is vacated? What is the cost/value of City improvements within this right of way that is proposed to be vacated? EC 9.8710 requires that the assessed value of special benefit to be deposited shall be determined by the City Manager. The City’s Real Property Officer in the Public Works Department, on behalf of the City Manager, prepared a Basis of Value report which provides an assessment estimating the value of the benefiting property for the proposed vacation. This report uses comparable sales of similar land use designations in determining the values. Based on this report and in accordance with code requirements, the City Manager has determined the total estimated fair market value of the approximately 0.65 acres to be $482,950. A copy of the Basis of Value Report and related correspondence is attached to the Agenda Item Summary for action on the vacation. Past improvements in Villard Alley (concrete paving to full City standards) were funded at the south end by the University and on the north end by assessing the adjacent property owners. Since the University is paying for the relocation of the utilities as noted below, no additional assessment for the cost of improvements was made to the University. The University has deposited this full amount of assessment ($482,950) with the City. If the vacation is approved, the deposit will be retained by the City. If the application is denied, the full amount will be returned to the University. Who will pay for the relocation of the utilities? The University has submitted an application for a Privately Engineered Public Improvement (Villard St. SD & WW Relocation PEPI #4574) to reconstruct the public wastewater and stormwater lines that are in the northern portion of the Villard Alley (Ordinance A) to be vacated. The University will bear all costs for those relocations and any private utilities that must be re-routed. What traffic circulation issues would be raised by the proposed vacations? No new traffic circulation issues will be raised by the proposed vacation. Villard Alley has not provided movement for through traffic since it was fenced just to the north of the University housing. Villard Alley currently does not provide any functional benefit for traffic circulation or bicycle and pedestrian circulation. New development on the site will be required to meet all current code standards for commercial zones in regards to traffic, pedestrian and bicycle circulation. Consolidation of the parcels is also expected to improve traffic circulation in the area by reducing the number of driveways on Villard Street. All future vehicular access will be addressed to ensure safe and efficient circulation. Any larger development, such as the arena, would also need to comply with Traffic Impact Analysis application requirements which identify traffic impacts related to a development and required mitigation.