Council approves transfer of 1196 Southwest Lane to neighborhood group, narrows permitted use to pocket park

The Topeka City Council voted to transfer city-owned parcel 1196 Southwest Lane to the Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association (TTNIA), approving a conveyance that includes a reversionary clause if the association fails to develop or maintain the agreed use.

Mayor Spencer L. Duncan introduced the proclamation and the conveyance resolution, and Leah Bowling, director of economic development, told the council the 0.13-acre lot is zoned M-1, lies at the Southwest 12th Street intersection and has an estimated city market value of about $900. Staff recommended the transfer at no cost to the neighborhood association so it can extend the Laingarten (Lane Garden) area to the adjacent parcel the NIA already controls.

Councilmembers debated whether the legal description should require a “community garden” specifically or allow a “pocket park.” After discussion of the site's history and the neighborhood's intent, councilmember Hiller moved to substitute language to allow “pocket park or community garden.” The substitution carried. Michael Bell, speaking for the TTNIA by Zoom, described a 12-year effort to secure the parcels and said the association intends a landscaped pocket-park-style public space; he added the NIA can later vote to operate a community garden if residents so choose.

Councilmember Hiller moved final approval; Councilmember Valdivia Alcala seconded. The conveyance passed with nine votes in favor and one abstention (Councilmember Banks). The resolution includes provisions reserving rights-of-way for sidewalks and utilities and a reversionary clause allowing the city to retake the parcel if the specified use is not met.