Council delays Mary Street easement

CHENEY – The City Council unanimously approved extending a public hearing on a request to vacate a portion of a city right of way on 1st Street in order to make a more sellable piece of property for the owner of two adjacent parcels of land.

At its first meeting of the year on Jan. 14, the council elected to send the matter back to the public works committee for additional research and direction on how to deal with access the right of way currently provides for several nearby residential uses. The committee will also create a draft ordinance the council will use in approving the vacation – including how the city land’s value is to be appraised.

The right of way in question is across 1st Street from Mary Street and was given to the city by the state Department of Transportation in 1941. The 125-foot stretch has been maintained by the department since then, Public Works Director Todd Ableman told the council.

In October 2019, Northwest Renovators filed paperwork requesting vacation of a 16,000 square foot triangular portion of the easement so that they could join two parcels of land they owned on either side into one large parcel. Ableman said preliminary development plans for the larger portion show the vacated land used mostly as parking and a storm water runoff swale.

“Its size and shape (right of way) has no marketable value as an independent parcel,” Ableman added.

Northwest Renovator owner Michael Lee said he’s trying to sell the land for development, and that all three parcels together would be a better package in piquing possible developer’s interest. Right now, the land is unusable.

“You can’t even put a coffee stand on it because of its irregularity,” Lee said.

Concerns from council about granting the vacation revolved around access to other parcels the property currently provides. While the city would retain access to nearby utility easements, potential problems could arise with access to a six-apartment complex and two single-family residences in the area — especially access by emergency services that is already difficult.

Access off 1st Street to residents is provided by Columbia Street, which is not a through street. Andrus Road also provides access off Cheney-Spokane Road, but is also limited.

In making the motion to send the request back to the public works committee for more research, Councilman Paul Schmidt said he was supportive of making the property more buildable if the access issues could be resolved.

“Would the city look at trading easement with WSDOT for better property access?” he asked. “We might have more work to do.”

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.