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Spooner City Council approves vacation of right-of-way on Oseewee Plaisance over resident objections
Summary
On Jan. 7 the Spooner City Council voted 4–1 to vacate part of the platted right-of-way in front of 301 Oseewee Plaisance, conditioned on removal of wooden posts; residents raised parking and safety concerns and the applicant’s attorney said the paved road width would remain unchanged.
The Spooner City Council voted 4–1 on Jan. 7 to approve vacating a portion of the platted right-of-way in front of 301 Oseewee Plaisance, contingent on removing wooden posts that intrude into the right-of-way. The action implements Resolution 24-18 and follows an earlier Board of Adjustment variance related to front-yard setbacks.
Resident Mary Chido opposed the vacation during the public hearing, saying the street is narrow and that posts placed in the right-of-way reduce parking and create safety risks: "Road isn’t proper width for street parking with current residential housing," she said, adding concern that the configuration could be dangerous if children dart into the street.
Ryan Benson of Benson Law Office, representing the applicant, told the council that "nothing of current blacktop road will be reduced" and reiterated that a BOA variance granted Oct. 2, 2023, would allow a reduced front-yard setback if the council approved the ROW vacation. Minutes reflect the variance would reduce the front-yard setback from 25 feet to about 10.2 feet and that, with the remaining ROW and setback, there would be roughly 23 feet between a proposed structure and the blacktop.
Council members and staff said the physical pavement would not change and noted that roughly 13 feet of ROW would remain on the affected side; they recommended removing wooden stakes if those stakes occupy public ROW and create parking constraints. Council discussion included reminders about the city’s continuing ability to maintain utilities and plow the street after any vacation.
The motion to approve the vacation was recorded in the minutes as moved by Montoya-Oja and seconded by Parker and passed 4 yes, 1 no, 3 absent; the minutes show the numeric tally but do not list individual roll-call vote names. The council added the condition that wooden posts located in the public right-of-way be removed.
The council closed the hearing after calling for additional public comment three times and moved to the next agenda items. The minutes note that notices for the hearing were sent and legal requirements met.
