Council staff briefed on Paxton Avenue L‑shaped alley vacation petition; transportation objects, access easement offered

Salt Lake City planning staff and the alley petition applicant presented a proposed vacation of an L‑shaped city alley near 300 West and Paxton Avenue (around 1170 South) at the Feb. 4 council work session. The applicant proposes vacating the alley and conveying the property to abutting owners at market value while recording a permanent access easement to protect vehicular access to the affected parcels.

Principal planner Olivia Svetko told the council the alley was platted in 1890 and that the north‑south leg has been gated off by property owners since about 2020 to address repeated crime, camping and public‑safety incidents in the alley. Planning staff said the petition satisfies the city’s public‑safety and design‑element considerations for alley vacations and that, with a recorded access easement, no property would be landlocked and…