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Council adopts ordinance vacating 10-foot strip of 8th Street to adjacent property owner
Summary
Council approved Council Bill 26-1007 to vacate a 10-foot strip of 8th Street right-of-way (Keller's Addition) to applicants Michael and Allison Sterling, adding about 1,250 sq ft to the county tax roll; one resident testified in opposition citing neighborhood continuity and potential for many owners to seek similar vacations.
The Coeur d'Alene City Council adopted Council Bill 26-1007, vacating a 10-foot-wide strip of public right-of-way along 8th Street in the Keller’s Addition plat to the adjacent property owners, Michael and Allison Sterling.
Dennis Grant, street and engineering project manager, told council the strip was dedicated to the city in the 1905 plat and that the requested vacation would add roughly 1,250 square feet to the tax roll with no anticipated financial impact to the city. Staff said all utilities are in place, that the standard 60-foot right-of-way used for sidewalks and travel lanes would remain, and that the extra 10-foot strip is excess for the city's foreseeable use.
Grant said state law requires the city to return dedicated plat land to adjoining owners rather than sell it, and that the applicant paid an application fee and costs for required exhibits and notifications; staff mailed 47 certified notices to property owners within 300 feet and received one response. During the legislative hearing resident Catherine Consaul opposed the vacation, arguing it would allow individual homeowners to enlarge taxable private property at public expense and disrupt a wide, tree-lined planting strip that provides neighborhood continuity.
Councilors discussed sidewalks, setback impacts and precedent. Staff noted that sidewalk requirements remain tied to the existing 60-foot right-of-way and that the vacation could change permitted setbacks on the affected property. After dispensing with a full ordinance reading, the council adopted the ordinance on roll call.
Next steps: staff will publish the ordinance summary and complete recordation steps required under Idaho Code Section 50-1306.
