Planning staff recommend approval of alley vacation at 373 West American Avenue with public-access easement condition

Planning staff recommended the council approve an ordinance to vacate a roughly 135-foot-by-11.5-foot north–south city-owned alley adjacent to 373 West American Avenue (near 950 South and the I‑15 viaduct). The request, presented Jan. 7, was supported by the abutting property owners and the applicant, American Acquisition LLC.

Megan Booth, a principal planner, said the southern section adjacent to the viaduct has previously been vacated and that the alley has functioned primarily as private access for some time. Staff recommended conditions to preserve pedestrian connectivity shown in the Ballpark station-area plan: the applicant must provide a 10-foot public-access pedestrian easement shifted to the east so the city does not lose the planned connection to the Orange Line alignment. Staff also recommended a process and timing condition to allow the city attorney\'s office to complete escrow and conveyance documents before final approval.

The applicant told council members the existing alley does not extend all the way to the applicant\'s south property line; in their view shifting to the proposed easement will create a larger contiguous public-access area and allow activated frontage along the easement. The applicant said conceptual site plans include ground-floor activation along the new public walkway and that they would treat the easement with public-street design requirements to avoid a blank wall condition.

The planning commission had recommended approval with the same conditions; the council discussion at the work session was informational. No final ordinance vote was recorded in the work session; staff said the item will proceed through the formal agenda process for final action.