Planning commission backs abandoning 25-foot roadway easement at 7617 E. Thunderbird

The Gotssell Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the City Council approve abandoning a 25-foot roadway easement along the northern property line of 7617 East Thunderbird, a single-family lot in Scottsdale (case 6AB2025).

Bronte Gibson, the staff planner presenting the case, told commissioners the request would remove a 25-foot roadway easement and that “no site access or utilities are impacted by the proposed abandonment.” Gibson also said the two adjacent properties to the east and west have previously received approval to abandon the same easement.

The applicant, Evan Schneider, told the commission he purchased the lot a few months earlier and had the previous house demolished. “My lot is 1.32 acres,” Schneider said. He described the easement as a remnant of a 1970s plan to extend Thunderbird Road that never materialized and said the neighboring property owners had already obtained abandonments. Schneider said utilities for the lot are located in the rear, there is no sewer service at the house and “I’m trying to get sewer, but it looks like it may be cost prohibitive.”

Commissioner Gonzales asked staff to confirm whether utilities or existing buildings were within the prior abandonment areas and whether site plans met required setbacks. Gibson said she would need to consult the prior site plans for verification and reiterated that staff had not identified public utilities with rights in the abandonment area and that the applicant had contacted utility providers, who did not request dedication of a utility easement.

A commissioner moved to approve the case after finding it consistent with the adopted general plan; a fellow commissioner seconded the motion. The commission conducted a roll-call vote and recorded unanimous yes votes from Chair Scarborough, Vice Chair Young, Commissioners Gonzales, Erteau (spelled in the transcript as both Erteau/Ertel in different lines), Joiner, Drake and Reid. The motion passed.

The commission's action is a recommendation to the City Council; the council will make the final decision on the easement abandonment. The staff report attached one public comment to the file; no substantive objections to the abandonment were recorded in the hearing.