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Keokuk council schedules hearing on vacating Hawkeye Addition streets; council debates fee between ~$5,000 and $40,000 estimate
Summary
Council set a public hearing on a request to vacate unimproved streets in the Hawkeye Addition and directed staff to survey the site and propose a fee; staff estimated the streets could amount to about 10 acres and calculated a previous square-foot formula that would produce roughly $40,000, prompting council members to propose a lower cap between $5,000 and $10,000.
The Keokuk City Council on Nov. 6 set a public hearing, to follow a planning commission review, on a petition to vacate platted but unimproved streets and alleys in the Hawkeye Addition and directed staff to prepare a valuation and fee recommendation.
City staff explained that the Hawkeye Addition request from property owner John Morris involves multiple unimproved platted streets and alleys that amount to roughly 10 acres of land if the streets were tallied by square footage. Using a historical fee practice that charged 10 cents per square foot for unopened streets, staff said the fee on that basis would be about $40,000. "This here, honestly, it comes up to almost 10 acres...it would be around 40 some thousand dollars on just the 10¢ a square foot," the city manager said.
Council members said that amount seemed excessive for largely unimproved pasture ground and proposed alternatives, including a capped fee between $5,000 and $10,000 or calculating fair market value based on comparable pasture sales. "I'd like to make a proposition that we offer it to him at somewhere between 5 and 10 and just kinda like what we've already discussed," one council member said during workshop discussion.
John Morris, identified by staff as the requester, addressed the council and asked the city to consider his long-standing interest in tidying the property so he could develop it. He also told the council he bought much of the land at a city sale decades ago and said he had previously been told an easement or similar access would be provided.
Staff noted legal limits: Iowa law does not permit simply giving city property away, and the council retained discretion to set a fee or determine fair market value. The council directed staff to walk the property, photograph the site, research comparable pasture sales, and bring back a fee recommendation before or at the public hearing; staff also noted the planning commission would discuss the request on Nov. 17.
Why it matters: Vacating public streets transfers property rights and can affect access, easements and city infrastructure responsibilities. The fee policy the council adopts will set a precedent for future vacation requests of unimproved platted streets.
Next steps: Staff will survey the site and return with a recommendation; the council will take formal action only after the public hearing and any required resolutions.
