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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-09-91 Zoning & Vacation Qt n tttn ;Wort • 0/o the Q[ontnwn Qiounrit of tip Qtttg of Omit, irnd: MINUTES OF THE ZONING AND VACATION COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON DECEMBER 9, 1991 The meeting was held on December 9, 1991, and convened at 4:05 p.m. , by Chairperson Lee Slavinskas. Present were Gene Ladewski, Don Niezgodski, Lee Slasvinskas, Ann Puzzello, Steve Luecke, Loretta Duda, Sean Coleman. Councilpersons Zakrzewski and Soderberg joined the meeting while in progress. I . Bill No. Petition to Vacate East-West Alleys bounded by Forrest Street to the East, and Leland Street to the West. The first item considered was vacation of certain east-west alleys bounded by Leland Street to the west, Forest to the east, Riverside to the north, and Portage to the south. Speaking on behalf of the petitioner was Mr. Tom Bullock. Mr. Bullock noted that there were many single parent families with children in the affected area who were concerned with the transient persons and speeding vehicular traffic down and through the alleys in question. Mr. Bullock noted that the main reason for seeking the vacation of the alleys in question was for the privacy and safety of the persons residing adjacent to and near the alleys. Mr. Bullock noted that if the alleys were vacated some property owners would use the vacated alleys as private driveways while others would widen their lots. Mr. Bullock informed the Council that the petitioners decided not to file individual, separate petitions concerning each of the separate alleys, as it was felt that if the alleys were vacated individually it would result in greater congestion to the alleys not vacated. Consequently, it was decided that a petition should be filed to vacate all of the alleys. Mr. Bullock informed the Council that at its meeting of December 9, 1991, the Board of Public Works heard opposition from some of the neighbors and adjoining property owners. He stated that the. Board had given the petition a negative recommendation, but held open the possibility that those alleys opening onto Forest Street might be vacated notwithstanding the creation thereby of T-alley intersections. Mr. Bullock noted that he had spoken with Bert Prawat of the South Bend Fire Department. Mr. Bullock indicated that theire Department was satisfied with the petition to vacate all of the indicated alleys. Mr. Bullock informed the Council that it was his belief that the. petitioners were not interest in causing problems to their neighbors. Councilperson Luecke then addressed the question of the legal sufficiency of the petition, noting that the Board of Works, at the advice of its counsel, questioned whether the petition was sufficient to vacate those alleys where neither adjoining property owner had signed the. petition. Mr. Luecke noted, as had the Board of Public Works, that most of the interest in vacating the alleys came from the property owners fronting Forest Street. Mr. Luecke recognized the concerns of a Mrs. Gromkowski, who resides at the intersection of Portage and the north-south alley running between Leland and Forest Streets, and pointed out that, in her case, if the petitioned alleys were vacated she would be forced either to back her car onto Portage Avenue, which she felt was a dangerous maneuver, or to drive all the way north up the north-south alley to Riverside, which she felt equally dangerous.. Councilperson Ladewski proposed vacating alternate Leland and. Forest fronting the alleys. Mr. Luecke responded, again, that most. of the interest in vacating the alleys came from those residing on the Forest side of the North-South alley. He did point out, however, that Mr. Scott Mainwaring, who lives at Lot 29, would not be happy with the decision to vacate only those alleys between the North-South alley and Forest Street. Mr. Mainwaring' s house faces Forest Street.. He has a garage at the back of his lot and will have to enter that garage off of Leland Street.. Mr. Niezgodski questioned. which homes had garages which might be affected by the vacation. It was pointed out that the houses at Lots No. 35 and 30 had garages that were in use, and that the houses at. Lots No. 23 and 22 had garages which were not in use. Report from Area Plan Commission: A representative of the Area Plan Commission expressed. the Commission' s concern about the lack of support of the petition of all property owners abutting the alleys petition to be vacated. Public Portion: Mr. Tom Brademas, Jr. , who resides at 750 Leland (Lots 6 and 7) spoke in opposition to the petition. Mr. Brademas noted that he and his family enter and exit their home through the garage which they would no longer be able to do if the alleys in question were vacated. Mr. Brademas also indicated his concern about closing on some of the alleys in question. He agreed that to do so would result in traffic being diverted to those alleys not closed. Emily , who resides at 728 Leland (Lot No 1) , spoke in opposition to the petition. 728 Leland is a three-apartment rental. property. If the alleys in question were vacated, residents of that. property would have to back their cars out of the North-South alley onto Portage or pull out of that alley onto Riverside Drive, neither of which she considered safe options. Council Portion: Councilperson Coleman asked Mr. Brademas and Ms. Emily whether they had a proposed. solution. Ms. indicated that she felt that closing only those alleys exiting onto Forest was an acceptable solution. Mr. Brademas indicated that he had no proposed solution, but opposed a decision to keep a few of the alleys open and close the other. Councilperson Duda indicated that she was generally opposed to the creation of T-intersections. She suggested that the bill or the petition be tabled to allow discussion to occur among the residents, and asked Mr. Bullock to agree to table the petition. Councilperson Slavinskas noted that if the Council were to continue the matter until its January 13 meeting, the neighborhood residents should be able to meet and bring a proposal to the Council. for its consideration at that time. Mr. Bullock noted that some people who were not at the Committee meeting had intended to appear at the Council, meeting that evening. He asked whether they would be given the opportunity to speak. It was determined that the better option would be to try to contact these persons and inform them that the bill would not be considered. that evening. Mr. Coleman moved to send the bill to Council with the recommendation to table consideration until the Council's January 13, 1992, meeting. Motion was seconded by Councilperson Duda. The vote was unanimous to table the bill with Council Member Luecke abstaining. Bill 71-91: An Ordinance Annexing Certain Real. Property to the City of South Bend Continued until the January 13, 1991, meeting, at which time the fiscal plan would be filed with the Council for consideration. III . Proposed 0-Zoning Ordinance Council Member Slavinskas reminded all persons with comments to provide them to him as soon as possible. The meeting of the Zoning and Vacation Committee adjourned at approximately 4:45 p.m.