Planning Commission recommends council approve alley vacation at 1300 South / 470 East

The Salt Lake City Planning Commission on July 9 recommended that City Council approve a private petition to vacate most of an east—west alley between 13th South and Sherman Avenue (near 1300 South / 470 East). The petition was filed by an abutting property owner who said many lots have built over the alley for decades.

Seth Rios, a planner presenting the item, said the applicant met the code standard for "lack of use," supported by historical Sanborn maps and site photos showing garages, vegetation and other obstructions. "For this alley, [Engineering] gave it a negative two on their usability scale," Rios said, meaning the department considers the alley obstructed and unusable as public right-of-way.

The applicant, Philip Wilkes, told the commission much of the block has existed with structures built over the alley since mid-20th century and that vacating the alley would bring current parcel descriptions into line with on-the-ground development so property owners can pursue lawful rebuilding or modest accessory structures.

Neighbor Linda Thomas raised a practical concern about how the vacated alley would be split. The city's longstanding practice in alley vacations is to divide the vacated strip approximately in half and add a half-strip to each abutting lot's legal description. Residents asked whether the city could instead dispose of land along existing physical boundaries (retaining walls or fences). Staff said the half-and-half division is the usual approach; property owners remain able to pursue lot-line adjustments with neighbors if they want a different legal configuration.

Planning staff routed the application to city departments. Engineering advised against routine vacating of public property but confirmed the alley is obstructed and unlikely to be restored for public access; utilities (power poles) remain encumbered by utility easements and utility providers retain the right to access poles in private yards.

The commission voted 5-3 to forward a positive recommendation to City Council for the alley vacation (applicant: PLNPCM2025-0219). Commissioners discussed a proposed friendly amendment to require that the vacated strip be disposed along existing retaining walls; the amendment was not accepted, and commissioners indicated that any legal questions about specific boundary dispositions would be resolved by the Councils final action and by any lot-line adjustments property owners choose to pursue.

Why this matters: Vacating an alley transfers title that has been used as private yard/structures back to abutting property owners and can affect maintenance responsibilities, utility access, and future lot-line arrangements. Utility easements and rights of access to poles remain in place even after vacating.

What happens next: The commission will transmit the positive recommendation and staff materials to City Council, which will hold a public hearing and decide whether to vacate the alley and record final legal descriptions.