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Council sets public hearing to consider abandoning Melville Avenue right-of-way adjacent to 11 Sunnyside
Summary
Public Works presented a resolution of intent to abandon a steep, lower-elevation strip of Melville Avenue right-of-way adjacent to 11 Sunnyside Ave; council adopted the resolution of intent and set a public hearing for April 22, 2025.
The San Anselmo Town Council on Feb. 25 adopted a resolution of intent to abandon a portion of the Melville Avenue public right-of-way adjacent to 11 Sunnyside Ave and set a public hearing for April 22, 2025, beginning the formal statutory process.
Public Works Assistant Engineer Will Messinger told the council the segment proposed for abandonment lies more than 10 feet below the Melville Avenue roadway at the bottom of a retaining wall and offers no practical public use. Messinger outlined the statutory process under the California Streets and Highways Code (sections 8300–8363): adopt a resolution of intent, notify utilities to determine easement needs, obtain a planning commission finding that the abandonment conforms to the general plan, and hold a public hearing before the council may vacate the right-of-way.
Messinger said the applicant will pay staff costs and that staff found the minor land-use change categorically exempt from CEQA under the CEQA Guidelines minor land use limitation exemption (section 15305). Town staff and the council said the proposed abandonment would clarify an awkward wedge of public land with limited utility and that the town has previously brought forward similar abandonments to clean up inconsistent or unusable strips of right-of-way.
Council member comments were brief; no public speakers opposed the action during the public-comment period. The council adopted the resolution of intent and set the public hearing date of April 22, 2025. At that hearing the council will consider whether the segment is unnecessary for present or prospective public use and, if so, whether to adopt a resolution vacating the right-of-way. That later action will include any required utility easements.
Ending: The decision starts the formal county-statutory abandonment process, with notices to utilities and a planning-commission review before the council will consider final vacation of the right-of-way at the April hearing.
