The Talent City Council on Sept. 3 approved an ordinance vacating a 60-foot-wide portion of Wagner Creek Road right-of-way immediately south of Culver Road and vesting the vacated land to the adjoining tax lot owners once annexation and recording steps are complete. The ordinance includes a provision preserving perpetual public utility easements for any utilities located within the vacated area.

The vacation affects the right-of-way adjacent to a school district parcel and will realign the future public road further west, the city said. City staff and the contract planner described the action as a narrow land‑title change that does not itself authorize construction of the future road or accelerate its timetable.

City Planner Ani Hunter and other staff reviewed applicable standards. The staff presentation cited Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) chapter 271 and Talent Municipal Code provisions governing street vacations, noticing and the reversion of title to adjacent owners. Staff reported that notices were published and posted in accordance with ORS 271.110 and Talent Municipal Code and that one written objection had been received but not from a majority of affected owners. Staff concluded the statutory and municipal criteria for approval were met.

Several residents testified during the public hearing expressing concerns about notice, the distance of the future road from existing homes, the safety of the Culver/Front Street intersection and potential impacts on irrigation access. City staff responded that the vacated right-of-way would allow a future alignment approximately several hundred feet to the west of the current eastern right-of-way, that the segment in question is intended in the short term for access to the proposed Boys & Girls Club while the broader connection would be defined in a later transportation project, and that any future building siting would be subject to its own public land-use review.

The city added ordinance language, prompted by written comment from the Talon (Talent) Irrigation District, that explicitly preserves public utility easements in perpetuity within the vacated area. Staff said that addition was intended to ensure that existing irrigation or other utility access is retained whether or not the easement had previously been separately recorded.

Councilor Parra Miller moved to adopt the ordinance; the council voted to approve the ordinance (roll call yes votes recorded by council). The ordinance takes effect 30 days after adoption but directs that title vesting to adjacent owners occur on the later of Oct. 3, 2025, or the next business day after the Oregon Department of Revenue certifies final annexation steps and when recording is complete.

Why this matters: The vacation clears a legal step needed for the school district and partners to finalize site plans for facilities on the adjoining parcel while preserving public utility access and requiring future development actions to return for public review.