Commission recommends council approve Phelps Health request to vacate portion of Eleventh Street for ER addition

The Raleigh Planning and Zoning Commission on June 10 voted to recommend that the City Council approve Phelps Health’s request to vacate a 0.79‑acre portion of Eleventh Street west of Powell Avenue to facilitate an emergency‑room expansion.

Tom, city planning staff, said the hospital now owns property on both sides of the portion of Eleventh Street proposed for vacation and that the roadway would function like a private service drive after vacation. “There will still be kind of a roadway there,” Tom said, “but since the hospital now owns everything on both sides of this road, it doesn't need to be a public street anymore.”

Staff told the commission the city received no objections from utility providers because the vacation would retain the utilities as an easement. Tom said utilities in the area will be preserved with an easement; the hospital cannot build over the road until utilities are addressed or the easement is modified.

Commissioners had limited questions about impacts on nearby houses. Tom said the hospital recently purchased one parcel within the area to be vacated and that another nearby house on Duane Avenue remains privately owned and is not included in the vacation. No speakers from the public opposed the request during the hearing.

A commissioner moved to recommend the City Council approve the vacation; the motion was seconded. The roll call recorded yes votes from Commissioners Sherman, Kreider, Jordan and Shields and the commission’s recommendation passed.

The recommendation to vacate will be forwarded to the Raleigh City Council for final action. The vacation will preserve existing utility provider rights through retained easements until any relocation or modification is completed.