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<br /> <br /> <br />Greenfield Estates Vacation Report <br />August 24, 2009 <br />Page 2 <br /> <br /> <br />To vacate an easement or other public interest in a parcel, the City must determine that the <br />easement no longer serves a public purpose. In this case, our consulting engineer, <br />Bonestroo, reports that the requested vacation of the 17.5-foot surface water easement <br />may not be detrimental to the overall function of the ditch area as long as the property <br />owner does not impact the capacity of the ditch with the new garages or parking lot. <br /> <br />The City Council did the first reading of this ordinance on June 8, 2008. Staff held off on <br />the second reading until the applicant received approval from Rice Creek Watershed <br />District (RCWD). Due to RCWD changing their rules, winter, the applicant and their <br />engineer struggling to find a way to meet RCWD requirements on a site that was built in <br />1969, and going before the RCWD Board a couple of times, it is now a year later. City staff <br />spoke with RCWD who indicates that they now expect the RCWD Board will approve a <br />permit for the reconstruction proposal for Greenfield Estates on August 26, 2009. <br /> <br />Public Works staff has reviewed this request, and they believe that since a 20-foot drainage <br />and utility easement will remain (10 feet on each side of the property line), there should be <br />no problem with the City vacating the 17.5-foot easement. Nick DeBar, Public Works <br />Director, is comfortable with the easement vacation even if Greenfield Estates does not get <br />a permit from RCWD. The 17.5-foot easement from 1951 was more than likely taken by <br />the city when the ditch was constructed for farm field drainage. Later on, when the property <br />was platted for development, new drainage and utility easements were put in place, but the <br />old easements were not vacated. <br /> <br />Recommendation: <br /> <br />Staff recommends that the City Council approve the second reading of Ordinance 809. <br />This ordinance approves the partial vacation of a surface water easement at Greenfield <br />Estates Apartments, 7521-7661 Greenfield Avenue and 2370 County Road I. <br /> <br /> <br />Respectfully Submitted, <br /> <br />Heidi Heller <br />Planning Associate <br /> <br /> <br />Attachments <br />1. Aerial View <br />2. Site Plan <br />3. Ordinance 809 <br />4. Ordinance 809 Summary <br />