City staff recommends vacating 30-foot Lataw Place to allow parcel consolidation for future development

Planning staff presented an application to vacate a roughly 30-foot right-of-way called Lataw Place, north of Inland Empire Way in the southwest portion of the city. The staff member said one property owner owns parcels on both sides of the short right-of-way and has applied to consolidate the property to create frontage on Inland Empire Way for future development.

Staff said they could not find utilities within that piece of right-of-way and that no parties had submitted objections in the initial review. As a condition of a vacation, the owner would need to consolidate parcels so no parcel would be landlocked from public ways. The staff member told the committee the fee for the vacation was calculated at about $81.55 that the property owner would pay; staff said no closure work would be required because the segment does not separate parcels from Inland Empire Way.

Why it matters: Vacations of short rights-of-way are a routine planning and platting tool that allow owners to consolidate land for development. The committee was told that shoreline rules will still apply to development in the area and that any future development would have to comply with shoreline guidelines.

Committee outcome: Planning staff recommended following through with the vacation application; the presentation recorded no formal vote during the committee meeting and identified the consolidation requirement as a condition of approval.

Closing note: Staff said they were happy to answer questions and that the item was on the agenda as a single, straightforward vacation request with a single property owner on both sides of the right-of-way.