Davenport staff opens public hearing on vacation of Locust–Dougalby alley; decision deferred to Feb. 4

Davenport City staff opened a public hearing Tuesday on case R0W2501, a city-initiated request to vacate a roughly 20-foot-wide strip of unimproved alley north of Locust Street between Bell Avenue and Dougalby Street in Ward 5. The commission did not vote; the matter returns Feb. 4 for a formal recommendation and possible action.

Staff described the portion proposed for vacation as about three-quarters of the block, roughly 440 feet in length and about 8,800 square feet in area, and showed photographs and maps of the unimproved alley. Staff said a storm sewer runs south from Pleasant Street through the western center portion of the block and that the block’s bowl-shaped topography — higher grades at Pleasant Street and lower grades near Locust Street — has left the alley never constructed for public access. “A public hearing was also published in the Quad City Times,” staff said, and staff reported written statements in opposition received over the weekend had been added…