Council approves vacating portion of Stockton Alley after removing street-renaming language

Mansfield City Council voted to adopt Bill 26-029, vacating a portion of Stockton Alley between Charles Street and Lewis Street while retaining utility rights and easements. The council amended the petition to remove language that would have renamed the vacated section before forwarding the document to the petitioner.

City Engineer Bob Bianchi presented the petition, telling the council the parcel has been blocked for several years to stop dumping and that the petitioner (identified in the record as Miss Solomon) proposed improvements once the alley was vacated. Bianchi said the section in question appears to be unnamed on the plat, which prompted council questions about how a new street name would interact with adjacent segments.

Councilwoman Mount said the city should not bind a private owner to a naming change after vacating municipal rights and moved to strike the lines in the petition that would have renamed Stockton Alley “Mariela’s Court.” The motion to amend the petition language carried in caucus and the amended ordinance was passed 7–0 in the council session.

Council records show the action preserves city utility easements on the parcel while transferring ownership of the vacated portion to the petitioner. The council’s amendment leaves the choice of any new private street name to the property owner after the city’s vacating action.

The ordinance passed on final reading; the council recorded the final vote as 7–0. No additional conditions or financial terms were specified in the transcript. The petitioner and city staff will follow administrative steps to update the vacating petition and file the council’s amendment with the petition.