Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Right Of Way Ev Charging topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City engineer explains encroachment rules as committee advances alley vacations and EV-charger petitions
Summary
City Engineer Richard Doherty described the encroachment and vacation process for rights of way; the committee advanced petitions 6.3–6.8 (including four proposed EV chargers) to formal consideration and recommended approval.
At the Jan. 12 Public Health & Safety Standing Committee meeting, City Engineer Richard Doherty walked members through how the city processes right-of-way requests, distinguishing temporary encroachments from permanent easements and describing neighbor notification and register-of-deeds procedures.
"We process encroachments as opposed to easements so that they are not a permanent encumbrance on the right of way," Doherty said, explaining that petitioners may place material in the right of way temporarily and that the city preserves utility access through reserved easements. He said vacating an alley typically transfers fee interest to abutting owners while retaining utility easements so agencies such as the Department of Water and Sewerage (DWSD) and DTE retain access.
The petitions described by the chair included a request by Monarch Holdings Group LLC for four electric-vehicle charging stations in the right of way, encroachments for an ADA ramp and above-grade lighting, private storm sewer installation, an underground vault encroachment, and vacations with reservation of utility easements. Doherty told the committee the city asks for signatures from abutting property owners and typically requires at least two-thirds concurrence before bringing a vacation forward.
Vice Chair Denzel Anton McCampbell asked whether owners are liable for damage caused by utilities after a right-of-way vacation; Doherty replied that utility easements remain and utilities retain the right to clear obstructions and access assets. On EV chargers, Doherty said installations in the right of way must preserve a six-foot ADA-compliant pedestrian path and that municipal parking would be involved if meters or fees are implicated.
A motion to move items 6.3–6.8 to formal consideration and to send them to the new-business docket with a recommendation to approve was made and carried without objection. The committee did not record a roll-call vote in the meeting; the clerk will include the items on a future formal agenda where members may vote with full record.
The committee also received and filed dangerous-building findings and orders for Nov. 21 and Dec. 12, and agreed to bring back a proclamation designating January 2026 as Human Trafficking Prevention Month in one week.
