Applicant seeks alley vacation on Pine Island Road block; staff recommends approval with utility and easement conditions

At the May 6 Hearing Examiner docket, Quattrone & Associates presented a petition for the vacation of a 20‑foot alley and underlying easements to assemble parcels at 1130 NE 7th Terrace and 1201 NE 7th Street. The applicants (Amigos Future Investment LLC) seek vacation of approximately 5,600 square feet of alley and 1,644 square feet of adjoining six‑foot public utility and drainage easements. The goal is to combine lots into a single development site and to create a cross‑access easement to avoid creating dead ends if adjacent properties build in the future.

Applicant representative Sonny Faranda (professional engineer) described the proposed mixed‑use / multifamily site plan and said the alley is unimproved and not relied upon for service today. Planning staff (Justin Heller) reviewed the case under §3.4.5 (vacation standards) and found that the city will retain a minimum six‑foot perimeter public utility and drainage easement around the expanded site; staff also noted letters of no objection from utility providers but required that owners bear the cost of relocating any facilities discovered in the vacated area.

Staff recommended approval with conditions, which include: consistency with the Harris Jorgensen LLC sketches and legal descriptions (dated 02/27/2025 and 04/09/2025 for perimeter easement), provision of a perpetual ingress/egress easement consistent with staff exhibit within 90 days of adoption, a one‑time nonrefundable contribution to the city general tree fund prior to advertising the adoption hearing (refundable if Council denies the vacation), and payment of recording fees. The Hearing Examiner said he would recommend the application go forward to City Council with staff’s recommended conditions.