Ordinance No. 20495 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

provided below, with findings demonstrating compliance: The city council shall approve, or approve with conditions and reservations of easements, the vacation of improved public right -of -way, public ways acquired with public funds, or undeveloped subdivision and partition plats, or portions thereof, including public right -of -way and improved public easements located therein, only if the council finds that approval of the vacation is in the public interest. The required public notice and hearing have occurred on the vacation request in accordance with applicable statutory and local code requirements. Consent for the vacation request from 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. City maintenance staff recommends a 14 -foot PUE for access to underground infrastructure. Rather than reserve the entire 14 feet of right -of -way as PUE, City maintenance staff prefers the additional three feet be provided by the applicant from their adjacent lands to the east, which is developed as a surface parking lot, to cover the existing public wastewater system in that location (outside the existing right -of -way). Further, the applicant wishes private ownership of the westerly three feet of the existing right - of -way, directly abutting the existing building, in order to construct building facade articulation for the creation of future store fronts. The ordinance includes the reservation of the proposed 11 -foot PUE. The applicant will be required to submit the three -foot PUE abutting the east boundary of the requested alley vacation. Other utility providers have confirmed that the applicant's proposed 11 -foot PUE reservation meets their needs. Comcast staff verifies that cable lines are located under the segment of alley proposed for vacation. The Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWER) 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 an existing steam line under the alley, but that the system is currently no active; EWEB confirms that the infrastructure may stay in place, as proposed by the applicant. 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 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, Exhibit C: Findings