Council denies alley-abandonment request after neighbors cite safety, access and enforceability concerns

The Phoenix City Council heard an appeal and denied an alley-abandonment application affecting a 28-foot-by-133-foot segment located between 5440 East Calle Camellia and 4001 North 54th Place.

Planning staff presented the abandonment application and explained that the hearing officer had conditionally approved the request subject to multiple stipulations: a public-utility easement, refuse collection easement, pedestrian and emergency access easement, and a 28-foot sewer easement. The applicant’s attorney, Jordan Greenman, said the stipulations would preserve public uses while allowing property owners additional buildable area (citing potential accessory dwelling units).

Neighbors, including appellant Kate Melendres and petition-signers, disputed that the easements would preserve practical public access and said the alley remains an active public connection used to avoid portions of 56th Street that lack sidewalks. Neighbors also raised enforceability concerns, presented photos showing overgrowth and alleged past dumping, and said they had been told the city would rely on neighbors to police easement compliance.

Council debated public-access arguments and the enforceability of stipulations. After motion to overturn the hearing officer’s conditional approval, council voted 8–1 to deny the abandonment request; one council member voted in favor of upholding the conditional approval. Councilmembers noted the public-safety and access trade-offs when a public right-of-way is converted to private ownership even with recorded easements. The council directed that utilities and refuse services must continue uninterrupted regardless of outcome.