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Commission approves full driveway access on Twelfth Avenue; landowner to cover reinstallation costs if city later restores median
Summary
The commission approved removal of a raised median on Twelfth Avenue Northeast to permit full access to a salvage‑yard parcel, conditioned on the property owner’s agreement to waive certain protests and to assume the cost to reinstall a median in the future; the motion passed 3–2 after debate about safety and precedent.
The West Fargo City Commission on Monday approved a request to remove a raised concrete median on Twelfth Avenue Northeast to provide full driveway access to an adjacent salvage‑yard property, with conditions that the applicant waive certain protest rights and be responsible for the eventual cost of reconstructing the median if the city decides to re‑install it.
Aaron Nelson, Director of Planning and Zoning, explained the request concerns the property at 475 Twelfth Avenue NE, the site of what staff described in the packet as a salvage yard. Nelson said the existing driveway is right‑in/right‑out because of a raised median that extends roughly 350 feet east of the nearby railroad tracks. He told commissioners staff did not object to removal of the median at this time but recommended approval be conditioned on the applicant’s waivers so the city could act in future if traffic volumes rise.
Nelson summarized staff recommendations: “The approval of the applicant’s request be conditioned on the applicant’s waiver of a right to protest any future decision by the city to reinstall the raised median and or to otherwise restrict access if conditions warrant, as well as the applicant’s waiver of the right to protest any costs for such improvements, that may be assessed in accordance with the city's infrastructure funding policy.”
City engineering staff said drivers had been making unsafe U‑turns near the railroad and that reconfiguring the center turn lane could reduce those movements. City Engineer Jerry Wallace and engineering staff explained the city would normally assess a share of future reinstallation costs to benefiting properties but recommended securing the applicant’s written waiver so the city could act without protracted protest proceedings if traffic patterns change.
Commissioners debated safety, precedent and fairness. Some commissioners questioned whether an alternate local street (Eleventh Avenue) could be used for access to avoid altering the arterial. Others sought to ensure the property owner would bear the expense if the city later closed the access and reinstalled a median. In a compromise amendment commissioners added language to the access agreement requiring the property owner to pay 100% of the cost to reconstruct a median at that location should the city later decide to do so; the amended motion passed 3–2.
The commission’s action directs the city to approve full access at the described Twelfth Avenue location, record the access agreement to run with the property, and keep the option to restore a raised median if future traffic conditions warrant. Staff will require permitting and that removal work be completed by a licensed contractor in good standing with the city.
