Canton City Commission approves vacation of alley between Bartlett and Cedar in Block 4

The Canton City Commission approved a petition to vacate the east–west alley between Bartlett Street and Cedar Street on Block 4 of Fitzgerald's Addition following a public hearing and public comment.

The hearing record shows the petitioners include Dakota Walsh; Joe and Danielle Jackals; Dennis and Sandy Lundstrom; Duffy Property Management; and Michael and Deb Peterson. Mayor Lundstrom said he is a property owner affected by the requested vacation and presided over the hearing but would abstain from the vote. Commissioners voted to approve the vacation; Mayor Lundstrom abstained.

Neighbors and commissioners explained the alley is effectively blocked where a nearby car wash sloped its drive, creating a four- to five-foot drop where the alley would be and raising safety and drainage concerns. The transcript notes an existing water line and electrical poles running through the alley and that a retaining wall, expected when the car wash was built, was not constructed. The city and petitioners discussed that, if vacated, the alley would result in property splits with ownership portions shared with adjacent parcels (described in the hearing as a 50/50 split).

The commission took no additional conditions at the hearing beyond the recorded easements and utility lines. The motion to approve was made and seconded and carried with the commissioners present voting in favor and the mayor abstaining. The hearing was opened to public comment and then closed before the vote.

The commission did not announce additional implementation steps at the meeting; staff follow-up to record the ordinance and process the parcel descriptions was implied by the vote but not specified on the record.