HomeMy WebLinkAboutAlley Vacation - 516 S. Michigan St.
ELIZABETH A. MARADIK JOSEPH R. MOLNAR GARY A. GILOT MURRAY L. MILLER BREANA N. MICOU
CITY HALL
215 S. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BLVD.,
SUITE 400
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA 46601-1830
PHONE 574/ 235-9251
FAX 574/ 235-9171
CITY OF SOUTH BEND JAMES MUELLER, MAYOR
BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS
December 16, 2025
Ms. Rachel Mospan
516 S. Michigan St.
South Bend, IN 46601
rachelmospan@gmail.com
RE: Alley/Street Vacation – East/West Alley Between 516 S. Michigan St. & 520 S. Michigan St.
(Preliminary Review)
Dear Ms. Mospan:
At its December 16, 2025 meeting, the Board of Public Works reviewed comments by the
Engineering Division, Community Investment, Fire Department, Police Department. The following
comments and recommendations were submitted:
Per IC 36-7-3-13, the vacation would not hinder the growth or orderly development of the
unit or neighborhood in which it is located or to which it is contiguous. The vacation would
not make access to the lands of the aggrieved person by means of public way difficult or
inconvenient. The vacation would not hinder the public’s access to a church, school or other
public building or place. The vacation would not hinder the use of a public right of way by the
neighborhood in which it is located or to which it is contiguous.
Therefore, the Board of Public Works submitted a favorable recommendation for the vacation of
this alley. If you still wish to pursue this alley vacation, please bring this BPW Recommendation Packet to
the City Clerk’s Office, located on the 3rd Floor of City Hall. Alley/Street vacations require a presentation
to the Common Council, approval of an ordinance, and certification of the ordinance from the Mayor. The
property then must be recorded with the Recorder’s Office to ensure that your 50% ownership of the
property is appropriately transferred to your name. If you have any questions about how the alley vacation
will affect your property taxes, please contact the Auditor’s Office.
In its Ordinance, the City of South Bend Common Council included the Board of Public Works’
requirement that you eliminate the alley approach by hiring a private contractor bonded with the City to
tear out the approach, replace with curb, and establish a tree lawn in accordance with City standards and
specifications. These updates should be made within ninety (90) days of final approval from the Common
Council. Please notify us when this work is complete. If you have any further questions, please call this office
at (574) 235-9251.
Sincerely,
/s/ Hillary Horvath
Hillary Horvath, Clerk
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS
DATE: June 30, 2025
TO: Kyle Ludlow, Public Works
Zach Hurst, Engineering
Chris Dressel, Community Investment
Derek Erquhart, Fire Department
Brad Rohrscheib, Police Department
FROM: Hillary Horvath, Clerk (hhorvath@southbendin.gov)
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR RECOMMENDATIONS – ALLEY VACATION
APPLICANT: Rachel Mospan
LOCATION: 618 S. St. Joseph St. and 516 N. Michigan St.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PLEASE INSERT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE APPROPRIATE FIELD BELOW, BASED
ON THE FOLLOWING I.C. 36-7-3-13 CRITERIA:
1.The vacation would/would not hinder the growth or orderly development of the unit or neighborhood
in which it is located or to which it is contiguous.
2.The vacation would/would not make access to the lands of the aggrieved person by means of public
way difficult or inconvenient.
3.The vacation would/would not hinder the public’s access to a church, school or other public building
or place.
4.The vacation would/would not hinder the use of a public right-of-way by the neighborhood in which
it is located or to which it is contiguous.
PUBLIC WORKS/ENGINEERING: Favorable Recommendation
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT: Favorable.
FIRE: Favorable Recommendation
POLICE: Favorable recommendation
6/27/2025 3125900062
rachelmospan@gmail.comRachel Mospan
516 S Michigan St, South Bend, IN 46601
east/west running alley south of Monroe, between 516 S Michigan and 520 S Michigan, starts atMichigan on the west and ends at the back alley behind 516 S Michigan to the east (i.e. the alleydoes not continue east to the next block which is S St. Joseph)
Charity Stowe and Rachel Mospan are the owners of Herstoric Properties which owns 516 SMichigan. Chartity and Rachel also founded and serve on the board of the 501c3 non-profit Milkweed Gardens, Inc. which owns 520 S Michigan. 516 S Michigan is being developed into mixed use residential and commercial space.520 S Michigan will be developed into a public green space/ pocket park that will serve the adjacent buildings aswell as the neighborhood. We'd like ownership of the alley to be attached to 516 S michigan (as opposed to splitting50/50). It will be maintained as a paved area for use by both 516 and 520.
6/30/2025
CK#889001
December 16, 2025
March 16, 2026
Phone #:
Email:
Yes No
Yes No
Does the existing alley provide garage access to other property owners?
Yes No
Is your property adjacent to the street/alley of interest?
Do any property owners currently access the street/alley?
Is there a future property development plan associated with this request?
Describe the reason for this vacation request and proposed use :
STREET/ALLEY VACATION PRELIMINARY REVIEW
City of South Bend – Board of Public Works
227 W. Jefferson Boulevard, Ste. 1316
South Bend, IN 46601
Preliminary Staff Comments:
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No
Date:
Name:
Property
Address:
Applicant property information: Residential Commercial Industrial
Describe the general street/alley location with boundaries (Ex: 1st East/West Alley, west of St. Peter St and north of Howard St):
This is a request for preliminary review of alley or street vacation with regard to Board of Public Works basic
criteria. Staff will review the information provided and give feedback to the applicant.
OFFICE USE ONLY:
Do less than 50% of properties on the full block have direct street access?
Is this the only midblock connection?
Is the block length greater than 600'?
Will the vacation result in: dead end alley, interference with bike route, violations of
minimum traffic safety standards?
Are there public or private utilities in the alley?
v. 2024-07-30