Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Gunnison holds public hearing to vacate parts of 300 South right-of-way; residents raise runoff and property concerns
Summary
City staff told the council the proposal would realign legal right-of-way lines to reflect existing improvements; state code means adjacent parcels would automatically extend into vacated areas. Residents raised concerns about grading and runoff tied to nearby development; planning and zoning and the planning commission will review development mitigation requirements.
Gunnison City Council held a public hearing on a plan to vacate portions of the city right-of-way on 300 South so deeds and parcel records match the road’s actual alignment.
"What we're trying to do here is trying to fix this problem that's been with us for many years about our right of way actually being on a lot of people's front doorsteps," Warner said when opening the hearing. City engineering staff explained the plan would decrease the historic right-of-way (the hatched area on exhibits) so the new right-of-way follows existing improvements (solid black lines), which the staff said should still allow future curb, gutter and sidewalk work.
Staff told the council that under state code adjacent property owners’ legal descriptions are automatically extended to the newly vacated right-of-way and that they coordinated with the county recorder on how added areas will appear on tax records. The planning commission previously reviewed the related application and staff said the state has identified potential flood-hazard areas that will require the city’s flood mitigation standards to be applied to certain parcels.
Several residents asked practical questions about how the change affects property lines, curb and gutter installation on steep terrain and who will pay for future improvements. One resident voiced concern about a nearby development (identified in the record as Dan Young's property), saying grading and new building pads there can direct water toward lower properties; staff replied that planning and zoning review and flood-mitigation requirements address those development concerns.
The council accepted public input and discussed next steps: adopting the ordinance with exhibits and recording the change with the county, which the city expects to treat the recorded documents similarly to a subdivision plat. If the ordinance is adopted, staff said they will record the ordinance and exhibits with the county recorder as the next step.
