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1. Flathead Industries Request to Abandon Alley-------------- -_ u-City . .... . ... . .. ....... .............. .. . .... ...... .. ................. . .. . ...... ......... . . . ___ _ ...... . . .... . . .. .... ........ . ..... . . ......... Past of€ice �o 997, Kalispell, Montana 59903 997 Telephone (406)758-?720, Fax 406}758 7 3 I REPORT TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: James C. I3ansz, P.E., Director of Public 0 SUBJECT: Request to Abandon Alley between Fourth Ave, " and Fifth Ave. wN MEETING DATE: To be Determined (December 18, 2006) BACKGROUND: Flathead Industries has requested abandonment of the south 150 feet of the City alley lying between Fourth Avenue wN and Fifth Avenue wN so that they can proceed with development of a new Thrift Store building. In accordance with the established City policy for such. requests, all affected utilities, Kalispell Police and Fire Departments, and adjacent property owners were contacted. No property owners objected. K.PID and KFD expressed no concerns. Utility concerns were identified by Northwest Energy and Flathead Electric. In addition a Kalispell sewer main is in the alley. Concerns centered upon ensuring adequate maintenance access and/or relocation of the existing facilities. Through a City -facilitated process of consultation and negotiation the complete resolution of all concerns was achieved. Flathead Industries will grant permanent utility easements for the maintenance of all existing utility facilities. RECOMMENDATION.* Abandon the alley as requested. ACTION REQUESTED: MOTION TO ABANDON THE SOUTH 150 FEET OF THE ALLEY IN BLOCK 30 OF KALISPELL ORIGINAL TO WNSITE. FISCAL EFFECTS; None ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the City Council Respectfully submitted, James C. Hansz, P.E. James H. atrick Director of Public works / City Engineer City Manager Attachment: Staff memo December IS, 2006 Abandon Alley Flathead Indnstn'es.dac MEMORANDUM November 17, 2006 To: James Hansz PE, Direct r o Public Works From: Fred Zavodny, rl Re: Flathead Industries Alley A ent Flathead Industries has acquired property on the east side of Fifth Ave. " between. Montana Street and the railroad tracks to construct a new Thrift Store. Flathead Industries goal is to construct a new thrift store that will benefit both the community and their clients. The initial design concept proposed connecting the new thrift store to their existing administration building directly across the alley. In order to accomplish this, Flathead Industries petitioned the City to abandon the south half of the alley that separated the administration building from the property acquired for the new thrift store. This is a dead end alley that terminates at the railroad tracks. The petition was received on April 21, 2006. In accordance with the City procedure for a right of way abandonment request, all utility companies, all emergency service agencies, and all property owners on the block were notified of the petition. Northwestern Energy and Flathead Electric were the only utilities that responded. None of the neighbors responded. Neither Police or Fire objected to the abandonment. Northwestern Energy has a major arterial gas line in the alley and objected to the abandonment. Both Northwestern Energy and DOT regulations do not allow for the placement of buildings over live gas facilities. An option would be to relocate the gas main around the perimeter of the block. The relocation would be at considerable expense to Flathead Industries. Flathead Electric voiced clearance and accessibility issues. Overhead electric facilities and metering equipment would need to be relocated at Flathead Industries expense. Until all of Flathead Electrics issues are resolved Flathead Electric cannot agree to the abandonment. The City has a sanitary sewer in the alley that would need to be addressed in the same fashion. Flathead Industries was notified of these utility restrictions by letter on June 21, 2006. It is not possible for Flathead Industries to commit to the costs and complexities involved with relocating the utilities. Flathead Industries and their Architect went back to the drawing board. On July 5, 2006 I was notified that Flathead Industries continues to seek abandonment of the south half of the alley with the following restrictions. All utilities would remain in place. Swing gates would be placed at both ends of the abandoned section to deter public traffic through the alley. Utility vehicles would have access to this section of the alley at all times. A covered walkway would be installed across the alley connecting the new thrift store to the administration building. The primary purpose of the covered walkway is to provide safety and security for the individuals they serve. At this time Flathead Industries believes that abandonment of the alley would permit the new thrift store building to be constructed to the former alley property line. This scenario would require the covered walkway to cross the new property line created by the alley abandonment. Flathead Industries Page 2 All utility companies and emergency service agencies were notified of the amended abandonment proposal. Northwestern Energy and Flathead Electric expressed accessibility and maintenance concerns. Building and zoning were contacted. If the alley were abandoned the new property line would be the center of the alley. Zoning regulations prohibit a covered walkway from being installed across a property line. This abandonment request in itself would not permit Flathead Industries to achieve their goals. In order to bring all of the concerned parties together to resolve the issues a meeting was held on September 6, 2006 in the Building Department conference room. Representatives from. Northwestern Energy, Flathead Electric, Kalispell Emergency Services, Flathead Industries, Flathead Industries Architect, Kalispell Building, ,honing, and Public works Departments attended. The following issues were resolved at the meeting. All underground utilities will stay in place. Utility and emergency vehicles can continue to drive through the alley with no gates to inhibit them. Construction and clearance issues for the covered walkway must be approved by all of the utility companies and the Building and Zoning Departments prior to placement of the structure. The issue of setback requirements and the covered walkway were discussed at length. As previously mentioned, simply abandoning the alley would not accomplish the goal of permitting the new building to be constructed to the original alley right of way. However, if the alley were abandoned followed by an amended plat, the property lines could be adjusted in a manner to permit the new building to be constructed as wished as well as permitting construction of the covered walkway. An easement would be shown on the plat and granted by an additional legal document declaring the former 16 foot wide alley as a perpetual utility easement. Everyone present at the meeting agreed to this. Accordingly, I am recommending the City of Kalispell abandon the south 150 feet of the alley in Block 30 of Kalispell Original Townsite. As a condition of the abandonment, Flathead Industries shall provide an amended plat which illustrates the adjusted property lines and declares the abandoned section of alley a perpetual utility easement. Also, Flathead Industries will provide the City with a legal written easement declaring the former 16 foot wide alley as a perpetual utility easement. 0637210 0144950 0066445 0637100 0066445 0487100 ST 00396N 09M50 0&39420 -------------- osamw 0145350 0966M D61 E030376 E000326 E030390 E000292 I kt 4 E000292 to E030392 E038M 0974450 FLATHEAD INDUSTRIES' REQUEST TO ABANDON ALLEY OD32247 0279250 06127150 0612750 rn 0107476 016 EO f E0368' 09744SO iv Lax Ali 11 0000f Fi ... . ..... . . ...... .... .. ... . ... ... ... 4. . ...... .. . . ....... ..... NO. show 16000 . ....... ... . 55 sp=es shown ri 114411-01' Wa v—k W-1■ ON 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ... ...... .... . . ....... .. 7 ...... ..... ...... ..... . . .... ....... ....... .... ..... ... . . .........01 MAN IV AUP