Eureka council hears proposal to surplus alleyways; attorney cites Utah Code 10-8-2

City staff and council members reviewed a plan to declare a number of narrow alleyways and small parcels surplus and to offer them for sale, with preference to adjacent property owners.

A city attorney at the meeting summarized the statutory process under Utah Code 10-8-2: the council must announce the proposed surplus, hold a public hearing, and adopt an ordinance or resolution declaring property surplus before it may be advertised for sale. The attorney recommended including a preference for adjacent owners in the surplus ordinance to reduce the chance of future ownership conflicts.

Council members said several adjacent owners had previously inquired about buying alley parcels and that the city completed surveys to identify the parcels and confirm ownership. Staff reported three people had expressed interest in purchase. Members discussed that many of the alleys are long, narrow strips (roughly 10–12 feet wide, some thousands of square feet in length in total) originally used for coal delivery or access and that most have little independent market value except to adjacent property owners.

Council members asked about notice and procedure: the attorney clarified the surplus determination requires a full council public hearing (not a planning-commission-level hearing) and that notice via the agenda satisfies public-notice requirements in many cases, though staff may choose to send letters to adjacent property owners advising them of the pending surplus. The attorney also advised the council to set a threshold in the ordinance for what constitutes a “significant parcel,” noting communities vary on thresholds and that the city’s existing ordinance should be reviewed to confirm any defined threshold.

Council members discussed potential conditions on sale, including limiting sales to owners adjacent to the parcel and setting a reasonable timeframe for purchases (for example, six months) so interested owners may act. Staff said the city’s prior ordinance from 2020 required surplus property to be sold at fair market value unless an exception applied, and that some previous sales (such as small railroad parcels) had been valued on a cents-per-square-foot basis.

No final ordinance or sale was approved at the meeting. Staff said they would prepare an ordinance or resolution with language giving preference to adjacent owners and schedule the required public hearing before the council for a future meeting.