The Plat Committee on Oct. 8 voted to waive a committee rule requiring the consent of every abutting owner before processing a vacation petition, allowing a petition to vacate Markwood Avenue (a paper street adjacent to 4344 Wanamaker Avenue) to proceed to public hearing even though the Chessington Grove Homeowners Association had not responded to outreach.

The petitioner’s representative described the street as a paper (unimproved) right of way that was platted decades ago and said the current record shows the section in question was dedicated by owners of Wanamaker Village and never became an improved, public street. The representative asked the committee to allow the petition to proceed with the consent of the owner of 4344 Wanamaker only, noting repeated attempts to secure HOA attention had failed.

Committee members discussed the procedural nature of the consent requirement and the fact that it is set by the committee’s rules rather than state statute. A staff member said the petition would still provide notice and a public hearing at which any party — including the homeowners association — could appear and assert an interest. The committee asked that staff send a clear correspondence to the HOA notifying them of the petition and the timeline for response; staff confirmed standard notice would go to the address on file and the HOA will be able to participate at the public hearing.

The motion approved by roll call waived the committee’s consent requirement for case 2025VAC‑008 and allowed the petition to proceed to public hearing. The committee recorded yes votes from members Evans, Rassdale and Wilson.

Why it matters: vacating a paper street shifts options for property owners and can place land back on the tax roll; the petitioner said proceeding would allow the city to resolve the right‑of‑way status and could return previously unused ground to taxable parcels. The committee’s waiver does not determine who ultimately receives vacated land — that determination (for example, whether half goes to adjacent owners) is handled through the vacation hearing and county assessor procedures, staff said.

The petition will be noticed and heard at a future meeting (case number 2025VAC‑008). The committee emphasized that the homeowners association will receive notice and will have the opportunity to appear at the public hearing to assert any claim.