Item 4: Ordinance to Vacate Alley Adjacent to Eugene Hotel

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abutting and affected owners, and payment of a special assessment for the area of vacated right-of-way, are required by statutes and local code. The vacation request was referred to affected City Departments and public utility service providers; referral responses indicate that the public interest is maintaining the function of existing underground utilities in the alley. The applicant’s plan (Exhibit B) shows the location of the alley to be vacated, relative to existing utilities, and delineates the proposed reservation of an 11-foot wide public utility easement (PUE) over the easterly portion of the 14-foot wide alley. Referral comments from utility providers confirm that the proposed 11-foot PUE covers the existing underground utilities. Comcast staff verifies that cable lines are located under the segment of alley proposed for vacation. The Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) staff confirms that there are no electric or water services in the subject alley and that neither utility is needed in this location to serve properties in the area. EWEB notes, however, that there is existing steam infrastructure under the alley, but that the system is currently not active; EWEB confirms that the infrastructure may stay in place, as proposed by the applicant. Both Comcast and EWEB staff concur with the applicant’s proposed 11-foot PUE along the eastern portion of the proposed 14 feet of right-of- way to be vacated. Public Works staff, however, indicates that, given the depth of the wastewater system (about ten feet), 14 feet of PUE width is necessary for equipment access, trenching, and spoils storage. In lieu of reserving a 14-foot PUE over the entire 14 feet of right-of-way to be vacated, Public Works staff confirms that the applicant may provide the additional three feet on the east and/or west side of the proposed 11-foot PUE. The applicant desires this flexibility because a design of the proposed building façade improvements has not been completed. The private improvements are anticipated to need between one and three feet of width abutting the east wall of the existing building. The applicant is able to dedicate additional PUE width east of the existing right-of-way because the abutting land is a surface parking lot, which is also under the applicant’s ownership; however, the applicant would like to limit the PUE encumbrance on that easterly property to the minimum necessary in order to enable future improvements along the parking lot, such as landscaping and a retaining wall. The draft ordinance (Attachment C) includes a condition of effectiveness to address the manner in which 14 feet of PUE is provided. The intent of the applicant’s requested vacation is to remove the current vehicle use from the alley and create a pedestrian-friendly environment, with a defined sidewalk, and potential storefronts along the east side of the hotel building for future tenants. The portion of the building abutting the alley proposed for vacation has been without a tenant since the City of Eugene vacated its engineering offices in 2008. The applicant has had difficulty marketing the space because of its limited street frontage and visibility abutting East Broadway, to the north. Under existing conditions, pedestrians share the paved alley with vehicles, since the City’s design standards do not include sidewalks on alleys. Vehicle usage of the alley is predominantly to access the adjacent parking lot to the east, which is also owned by the applicant. The segment of High Alley south of the area of request (i.e. between East Broadway Alley and East Exhibit C: Findings