Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property And Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves abandonment of unused drainage easement at 111 Spine Street to clear path for redevelopment
Summary
The City Council approved returning a 3,390‑square‑foot drainage easement at the corner of Spine Street and Route 30 to the property owner after city engineers and DPW said the easement was never built out nor planned for future use; the change clears utility routing and pole placement for a permitted convenience‑store redevelopment.
The City Council voted to abandon and return to the owner a 3,390‑square‑foot drainage easement on a parcel at the corner of Spine Street and Route 30 after staff informed the council the easement had never been constructed or used.
Attorney Charles Russo, representing the owner and developer group, told the council the easement dated from a 1997 road‑widening action and the parcel — now part of a larger site with permits in place for a convenience‑store redevelopment — contains a flat grassed area where no detention facility or piping was ever installed. Russo said Verizon and the project engineer prefer to route utility service from Spine Street and to install a pole in the easement area to serve the new development.
City engineering staff (via prior communications referenced in the meeting packet) confirmed they had no plans to use the easement for drainage infrastructure, and councilors approved the abandonment on a roll call vote after committee recommendation. The council’s vote clears an administrative obstacle for the developer to obtain utility easements directly from utility companies and proceed with construction under existing land‑use approvals.
Councilors noted the city engineer’s letter in the meeting materials and said the action represented a narrow, parcel‑level adjustment rather than a policy change. The council took no additional land‑use or zoning approvals in connection with the easement vote; the convenience‑store project’s planning and zoning permits remain as previously approved.
