Woodland Park council denies applicant's request to vacate portion of South Fairview Street

The Woodland Park City Council voted to deny Ordinance 15-10, Series 2025, a request by applicant Andre Brewington to vacate a portion of South Fairview Street between Chester Avenue and Foster Avenue.

Council opened a quasi-judicial public hearing after staff presented historical research and technical analysis. Senior planner CJ and Planning Director Karen Schmink told council the parcel in question originated from 19th-century plats and later dedications of Woodland Avenue. Staff described the triangle as a "forgotten scrap of land," roughly 2,862 square feet by staff measurement (the assessor record lists an abbreviated legal description and an approximate 0.12 acres), well under the UR zone's 7,500-square-foot minimum lot size. Staff said required setbacks and the site's slope leave a triangular building envelope of about 382 square feet, which they characterized as too small to support a typical single-family building envelope.

The staff presentation summarized utility constraints and legal considerations. Woodland Park Utilities told staff the parcel is not planned to be served by existing water mains and would require the applicant to extend the main and request a tap. Core Electric indicated it may request easements on all three sides of the parcel; Black Hills Energy reported no gas facilities in the immediate area. Staff noted past conveyances (including treasurer's deeds) and that the property has been conveyed several times; planning staff and the records review suggested the western triangle was not part of larger, legally subdivided parcels created in the 1970s and 1990s.

Applicant Andre Brewington, who told council he purchased the parcel in 2024, said he hopes to make the parcel a legal lot and build a home for his family. "I purchased this lot in 2024," Brewington said. "I'm trying to get something done, trying to make something of it, and have land be managed instead of squatted by derelict campers." He acknowledged that extending water to the parcel would be expensive but argued the planning recommendations focused on current constraints rather than the possibility of meeting requirements during the land-division process.

An adjacent property owner, Josh Smith, who owns 112 Foster Avenue, told council he and neighbors have maintained the area and expressed safety concerns about adding a driveway and increasing traffic near the intersection of Woodland Avenue and Foster Avenue. He called the parcel small and said he would have bought it if he had known it had been sold at a treasurer's sale in the past.

After discussion about legal descriptions, vesting and how the city's municipal code requires vacations to be accomplished by ordinance, Mayor Case moved to approve the ordinance. The motion failed on roll call: Council member Jones voted yes; Mayor Case, Mayor Pro Tem Nakai, Council members Bryant, Gere and Smith voted no (1–5). The planning commission had recommended denial with conditions; staff had identified potential reasons for retaining the right of way, including limiting further increases in dwelling-unit density, restricted buildability, and the utilities department's position that the city has not planned to serve water to the parcel.

Because the council denied the vacation, the city's ownership and the current public-right-of-way status remain unchanged. Staff noted that if an applicant wished to pursue development in the future, the applicant would need to address utility service, meet subdivision/lot-size requirements, and complete required legal descriptions and deeds.

The denial leaves intact staff and planning-commission findings about the parcel's small size, the absence of planned water service, and the practical limitations created by setbacks and slope.