Salt Lake City Planning Commission backs alley vacation near 2553 South Chadwick, urges council to consider full alley vacation

The Salt Lake City Planning Commission voted 3–1 on April 22, 2026, to forward a recommendation to the City Council to adopt an alley vacation at roughly 2553 South Chadwick Street, with a stated preference that the council consider vacating the entire alley between Chadwick and Dearborn.

Staff presented the request as two connected but distinct alley segments in the Highland Park subdivision: an east–west segment approximately 12 feet wide by 262 feet long that staff said has "served as the driveway for both of those properties for at least six years," and a north–south segment roughly 12 feet by 51 feet that staff described as a paper alley largely used as rear-yard space since about 1958. Diana, a city planner, told the commission that multiple accessory structures encroach into the alley and that staff was applying the city's "lack of use" standard in recommending a positive recommendation to council.

At the public hearing neighbor Ralph Dnup said he abuts the alley and "has no objection at all," calling the vacation "an improvement to the neighborhood." No other public speakers were recorded on the matter.

Commissioner discussion focused on two competing concerns: protecting the public interest in continuous alley rights-of-way versus acknowledging that, on the ground, a physical alley does not exist in many places. Commissioners and staff discussed Rocky Mountain Power access and typical solutions such as establishing easements to preserve utility serviceability. Commissioners also noted a recently approved ordinance that updates alley policies but told the commission it had not yet been published and therefore the application was being handled under the older rules that applied when it was filed.

The commission first voted on a motion to recommend adoption and that vote resulted in no majority. After further debate, Commissioner Amy Barry moved that the commission recommend the City Council adopt the alley vacation (PLN PCM2026-000073) "with the stated preference that the City Council look into an entire vacation of the alleyway between Chadwick and Dearborn." Commissioner Anna Sullivan seconded. The motion passed 3–1 (Amy Burroughs joined the majority; Laya Rosenfield voted no). The commission’s recommendation to the council is advisory; final approval rests with the City Council.

The staff report noted that, if the council approves the vacation, the city would convey the vacated portion of the alley to the abutting property owners in the Highland Park Plat A subdivision and that staff typically secures easements when utility access must be preserved. The commission did not attach a requirement to remove existing encroachments; instead, the recommendation asked the council to consider a broader vacation of contiguous alley segments so the city does not leave a discontinuous public right-of-way.

The matter will next appear before the Salt Lake City Council for a final decision.