Council moves alley-vacation ordinance to third reading after neighbors, engineer disagree

Davenport City Council on April 9 advanced to third consideration an ordinance (WO ROW 25-01) that would vacate a portion of the alley north of Locust Street between Bell Avenue and Double B Street in Ward 5, after residents and a consulting engineer told the council they opposed the vacation or raised concerns about ownership and future access.

The ordinance moved forward on a 10-0 roll call after council members said they wanted more time to pursue a compromise and to share correspondence staff sent to neighbors. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of the vacation by an 8-1 vote earlier this year, and multiple residents and an attorney representing an adjacent owner urged the council to follow that recommendation.

Why it matters: The alley provides current access to adjacent properties and contains a concrete retaining wall whose ownership and location are central to whether the public right-of-way should be extinguished. If vacated, questions remain about long-term maintenance, conveyance to private owners and whether the city or private owners would be responsible for preserving safe ingress and egress.

Michael Malloy, an attorney representing property owner Sean Agan, told the council the neighborhood opposes the vacation and submitted a petition. "Sean strongly opposes this right of way vacation as do the overwhelming majority of the neighborhood," Malloy said, noting the Planning and Zoning Commission spent three meetings on the request and voted 8-1 to deny it.

Chris Townsend of Townsend Engineering said his field survey shows the five‑foot concrete wall on the north side of Locust lies at least partly in the city right-of-way. "What we found ... that wall is, clearly in the right of way," Townsend told the council, and he said he would provide the survey to the city engineer.

Neighbor testimony emphasized safety and uncertainty about future conveyance. "It's void of so much gray area, like, what happens in the future? What happens if property owners change hands?" Kayla Fielder, a nearby resident, said. Another neighbor, Sean Hagen, urged council members to "listen to the commission" and leave the alley intact.

City Administrator Max Einer told the council staff had reached out to affected property owners to seek compromise but had not reached agreement and requested two weeks before the third reading to continue discussions.

Council members who spoke said safety and preserving access were their primary concerns and expressed interest in finding a negotiated solution that preserves safe ingress and egress whether the alley is vacated and improved or left as is.

Next steps: The ordinance will return to council for a third reading after further outreach; the council did not adopt a final ordinance or convey property rights at this meeting.

Ending: Council members asked staff to share the neighbor correspondence with the full council ahead of the next meeting and said they expect continued discussion before any final vote on vacation or conveyance.