Public Notices & Hearings

Monday, September 9, 2019, 7:00pm I. Call to Order II. Public Hearing – Vacation Request/College Church of Wheaton/Scott Street Right-of-Way A. Presentation B. Public Comment C. Council Comment III. Adjournment  MEMORANDUM TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: John Duguay, Assistant City Manager DATE: September 9, 2019 SUBJECT: Vacation for Public Alley Right-of-Way (College Church of Wheaton) Background College Church of Wheaton (“Church”) has submitted a petition to vacate a certain right-of-way (“ROW”) known as the public alley which is surrounded by the properties they own (Figure 1). A copy of the petition for this property is attached as Exhibit A. A copy of the Plat of Vacation is included as Exhibit B. Existing Conditions and Proposed Use – Public Alley The public alley is 20-feet wide and constructed of bituminous material. It lies south and west of the Church Plat of Consolidation (including their property at 332 E. Seminary Avenue) and south of their properties at 308 E. Seminary and 221 N. Scott. The alley lies north of their property at 311 E. Wesley. The Church owns the entire block except for the public alley. City water main is located within a portion of the alley. Other franchise utilities also have equipment located within the alley, including AT&T and ComEd. Otherwise, this area remains generally unused and appropriately maintained. Compensation Section 58-138, Wheaton City Code, details how fair and just compensation is determined for vacation of streets and alleys or public ways. Specifically, Section 58-138 (a)(4), states that…  …no fair and just compensation shall be required for public ways that necessitate a permanent easement over the entire public way land area. While the City would require an easement over only some part of the alley, the utility companies desire to maintain easements over the entire area. Specifically, ComEd and AT&T do not desire to relinquish their rights related to these easements, while Comcast and Nicor have no objections to vacating the property in question. Therefore, an easement over the entirety of the alley is required. Recommendation The Church’s property is considerable in size and they own all the property surrounding the alley. Section 58-138(a)(4) of the City Code provides that since an easement is required over the entire ROW area, no compensation is required of College Church of Wheaton. Staff recommends the City Council favorably consider vacating the Public Alley ROW subject to College Church of Wheaton reimbursing the City for all expenses associated with the newspaper advertisement, court reporter and DuPage County recording fees prior to the recording of the Plat of Vacation. EXHIBIT A EXHIBIT B