Commission recommends council vacate East Ninth Street and nearby alleys to support Roswell Ford redevelopment, with legal and utility caveats

The Roswell Planning and Zoning Commission voted Tuesday to recommend that City Council approve a vacation of East Ninth Street (a 60-foot right-of-way) and adjacent north/south alleys between Eighth and South of Tenth streets so the land can be converted into utility and reciprocal access easements and used for infill redevelopment by Roswell Ford. The recommendation passed by roll call, 5-1; Commissioner Alicia Gilmore cast the lone no vote.

The proposal (case VAC-25-0007) would reallocate right-of-way acreage to adjacent properties — Smith Engineering's submittal shows 40 feet to the north properties and 20 feet to the south — and convert alley rights-of-way to easements (the applicant has proposed 25-foot public utility and reciprocal access easements). The applicant and agents present included Scott Hicks of Smith Engineering, contractor Toby Gross and owner Tom Crumlin of the Crumlin Auto Group; the applicant said the change would remove a conflict point where service traffic and pedestrians meet current on-street operations and would permit a redesigned service lane and building improvements on the site.

Staff presentations and engineering memoranda described several technical and administrative requirements. City Engineer Lewis Nahar said part of the Ninth Street area had been repeatedly used and maintained by Roswell Ford and that vacating the right-of-way would remove the city's maintenance responsibility for the segment; Nahar listed probable conditions including relocation of a fire hydrant, removal/return of signs and street light infrastructure to the city, careful handling and stockpiling of historic brick for future repair, and instructions for drainage to continue flowing toward Virginia Avenue and existing storm drains. Nahar said utilities would remain in place as easements and that the developer would have to ensure access for water, sewer, gas and fiber maintenance.

City attorney Jessica Vickers told commissioners that ordinance changes adopted in 2024 (Ordinance 24-03) require a written determination by the mayor or city manager that vacated property is not essential for municipal purposes before Council disposes of real property, and she cautioned that the packet did not include such a determination. Vickers also noted that state constitutional anti-donation provisions require consideration of value when the city transfers real-property interests, and she said staff had not yet produced a valuation to satisfy that standard.

Representatives for Roswell Ford said they had met with utility companies and the property owner to the west (Rhodes) and asserted that utilities and emergency access would remain; the applicant provided examples from prior alley vacations in Roswell and said utilities would continue to have access by easement and that the redevelopment will include streetscape and drainage improvements paid for by the developer. Owner Tom Crumlin and representative Toby Gross described planned capital investment for a redesigned Ford facility and said the vacated acreage is necessary for the project's design.

Commissioners debated public-right-of-way loss, floodplain impacts and legal risk. The packet and presenters noted small portions of the Ninth Street-right-of-way intersect FEMA-designated flood zone AH; staff said the service lane and proposed building footprint are not in the FEMA-designated flood area but that some adjacent parcels and the face of Ninth Street near Main Street are. City attorney Vickers and city engineer Nahar recommended that the commission forward a recommendation to council while flagging unresolved issues — notably the absence of a mayor/manager no-municipal-purpose determination and a valuation to address anti-donation questions — for Council to resolve.

On a motion by Commissioner Henderson, seconded by Commissioner Lazard, the commission recommended approval to City Council, 5-1. The report and recommendation will be forwarded to Council for final action; the Council will also consider any required municipal-purpose determination, utility easement language, and whether a valuation or transfer mechanism is necessary to comply with state constitutional limits on donations of public property.

Why it matters: the recommendation would enable a private redevelopment project that proponents say will improve the corridor and move maintenance responsibility off the city. Staff cautioned the commission that Council will need to resolve legal and utility-level details before a final transfer could be executed.