Park board approves recommendation for temporary sewer easement at College Park property

The Wichita Park and Recreation Board on April 1 recommended moving forward with a proposed temporary sanitary sewer easement through College Park to allow a homeowner at 320 South Circle Drive to connect to the city mainline.

Tim, a parks staff presenter, explained the property’s unusual service history: several older homes in the area previously tied together to a single private line and no formal easement existed at the rear of lots. The current homeowner purchased the property and asked to connect through the park parcel to reach the municipal main north of the property. Parks staff proposed a temporary 10-foot easement routing a sanitary connection around trees and backyards to avoid tearing up the road.

Staff said the homeowner would be responsible for all costs of construction, restoration and any required surveys; standard easement language would require rehabilitation of the park surface and tree protection. Tim told the board the alignment avoids trees and minimizes impacts to existing park amenities. “One of the terms agreements to work on is to make sure that if they come in and they do damage…the agreement requires them to restore to the prior condition,” a parks presenter said.

Board members discussed precedent concerns — whether other homeowners might later ask to run private services through park property — and staff replied that if many properties requested similar access, it could justify a city project to run a mainline in another location. After questions and discussion, a board member moved to recommend approval to proceed with the proposed sewer easement at 320 South Circle Drive; the board approved the recommendation by voice vote.

Next steps: parks staff will continue negotiation of the temporary easement language with city legal counsel, require the homeowner to restore disturbed areas to standards and submit the finalized agreement for any required city approvals.