Council adopts vacation of Rice Avenue right-of-way after owner assurances to neighbors

A majority of the Evansville Common Council voted on March 30 to vacate an unimproved right-of-way at the end of Rice Avenue (common address 3505 Rice Avenue) after hearing commitments from the property owner and neighbors.

Brett Sturmerseim of Morley, representing the owner, told council the owner intends to build a single-family residence, would not connect Rice and Lombard to create a through street, and would participate in road maintenance and repair costs if construction causes damage. Councilor motioned to amend the ordinance to record those assurances and include the owner’s written notice in the ordinance record; the attorney said the amendment should be read into the record and documented.

Neighbor Mary Brown (3611 Reiss Avenue) told council residents appreciated the outreach but remained concerned about proving construction-related damage after the fact, noting many neighbors are retired and want to protect property investments. Councilors acknowledged the unusual procedural posture — the vacation has rezoning-like effects but is handled under vacation rules — and said recording the owner’s assurances provides added documentation for neighbors.

After a brief discussion and a roll-call vote, ordinance G2026-06 was declared adopted with seven ayes. The council directed that the owner’s written assurances be included in the official record; the Department of Metropolitan Development will handle the recording and follow-up.

Next steps: the vacate instrument will be recorded with the county recorder and the city will note the owner assurances in the project file.