The Romulus City Council considered and rejected on Dec. 22 a petition to vacate a north-south alley in the Buckingham Manor subdivision.

The clerk read a full legal description of the alley (north of Cincinnati Avenue, south of Avalon Street, east of Essex Street and west of Chamberlain Drive, abutting lots 183–197 and 232–246). The petition asked the council to adopt a resolution vacating the alley while retaining a 20-foot utility easement for the City Department of Public Works to access utilities for repair and maintenance.

Council discussion focused on observed encroachments and enforcement differences depending on whether the alley remained a public right-of-way or was vacated to adjacent owners. DPW staff (Roberto) noted there were several addresses with structures or fences that had already encroached into the alley. He explained: "...if there's a no vote and the alley is not vacated, there will be enforcement...there's going to be one enforcement [for a specific fence that crossed property lines]; if the alley is vacated, the city would be hands off and property disputes would be between owners or in local court."

One councilmember said unanswered questions about handling property already in the alley were the reason for a 'no' vote. During the roll call, several members voted no; the chair recorded a no vote as well. The motion to adopt the vacate resolution failed on the record.

Vote summary (as recorded in the transcript roll call): Roscoe — no; Jones — yes; Wilhite — yes; Weisworth (Wadsworth/Weisworth variants) — no; Abdo — no; Bullock — yes; Chair — no. The clerk announced the motion failed.

What this means: the alley remains a city right-of-way, with the city indicating it will enforce current violations where appropriate. If owners bring private disputes later, those would proceed through ordinance enforcement or local court as appropriate.