Ordinance No. 20495 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Exhibit C: Findings Background: The Eugene Hotel Retirement Center (Applicant) requests the vacation of the segment of High Alley abutting the east boundary of the hotel building, between East Broadway and East Broadway Alley. The area of requests consists of 2,259 square feet of public right -of -way that is 14 feet in width and approximately 161 feet in length. The alley is currently open to vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian use and contains public utilities. The vehicular use of this segment of the alley is primarily to provide access to and from the parking lot, abutting the alley to the east, which is also owned by the applicant. Pedestrians share the paved surface with vehicles, as sidewalks are not required as part of the City's design standards for alleys. The eastern portion of the hotel 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. The applicant's requested alley vacation is to remove the 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 applicant proposes to provide a public utility easement (PUE) over the easterly 11 feet of the existing 14 -foot wide alley. Referral comments from Public Works staff indicate that, given the depth of the underground public wastewater system, 14 feet of PUE is necessary to enable continued maintenance access. Given the alignment of the public wastewater system being partially located outside the existing right -of -way, on the applicant's parking lot to the east, Public Works staff prefers a three foot PUE adjacent to the east margin of the alley vacation request, to make up the 14 feet of PUE access necessary, rather than require a reservation of 14 feet over the entire existing alley. Further, the applicant requests private ownership of the westerly three feet of right -of -way to enable architectural articulation along the east wall of the existing building abutting the alley. The draft ordinance includes this recommended and proposed PUE reservation. The vacation request process provides a means to evaluate the need for public ways as land develops and uses change over time, and to address the manner in which the City may dispense with public ways. Requests for the vacation of public streets and alleys are considered in accordance with Eugene Code (EC) 9.8700- 9.8725 and Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 271.080- 271.230. These requests are also subject to procedural requirements at EC 9.7445- 9.7455. Compliance with Approval Criteria: The sole approval criterion at EC 9.8725 requires the City Council to find that approval of the requested right -of -way vacation is in the public interest. The full text of the approval criterion is Exhibit C: Findings