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Planning board approves partial vacation of alleyway in BRoad2508; staff narrows request pending south-end deed research
Summary
The board voted 5-0 to approve abandoning the northern portion of an alleyway in case BRoad2508, while staff continues research into deed language and property issues further south; the City Commission previously asked staff to pursue vacating the entire alleyway.
The Panama City Planning Board on Feb. 10 approved abandoning the northern portion of an alleyway in case BRoad2508, voting 5-0 to accept staff’s recommendation to vacate the section north of Second Court while staff continues research farther south.
Staff told the board the City Commission earlier voted to move forward with vacating the entire alleyway, but subsequent information and contact with a property owner on the alley’s southern extension revealed “some old deed language” and other complications. Because of those outstanding issues, staff recommended the board act only on the northern section now so that the part north of Second Court can be recorded while staff studies the southern portion.
A nearby resident, Charles Ray, who said he lives on the island and was sworn in for testimony, told the board the alleyway “has not been an alleyway since when I was a boy,” and asked how and when affected property owners would be notified. Ray said he has paid taxes on the parcel since 1990 and that his grandmother occupied the property in 1943.
A Development Services staff member explained how an adopted ordinance is recorded: after the mayor, city clerk and city attorney sign the adopted ordinance, the city clerk’s office physically records it with the county clerk of court. The staff member said the city does not send a mass notification after recording; residents who participate or ask may receive a copy of the executed ordinance if they contact the department. Staff also said the first City Commission hearing was scheduled “tomorrow morning” and that a second reading is set for the 25th of the month.
The motion to approve the northern portion carried on a unanimous roll call. The board’s action authorizes staff to proceed with steps toward execution and recording of the ordinance for the northern section; staff will continue working with the property owner and conducting deed research for the southern extension before any further action.
