Council holds first reading on vacation of short segment of Railroad Street; petitioners and neighbors press for precise property description

The Lock Haven City Council held a public hearing and carried a first reading of an ordinance (referred to in the agenda as Ordinance 20.3 / act 06) to vacate roughly 270 feet of Railroad Street from Bellefonte Avenue to North Second. The petitioners who requested the street vacation were present for the discussion.

City staff told the council that police, fire and public works have reviewed the proposal and believe emergency and maintenance operations can continue without the short segment. The planning materials said the stretch is not on the city’s liquid fuels maps and therefore does not receive state liquid fuels funding.

Neighbors and property representatives pressed council for a clearer “meets and bounds” legal description of the strip to be vacated. One listener and several councilmembers expressed concern that a vague description could create ambiguity about who benefits; they asked the city solicitor to provide a full property description that would clearly identify the beneficiary parcels and avoid creating an unintended taxable parcel in the future.

A petitioner described existing sight‑line issues and safety concerns at the intersection near Bellefonte Avenue and said vacating the segment could eliminate obstructions and allow more productive use of the land. Councilmembers discussed alternative approaches, including whether the city should require a single unified property description to avoid splitting the vacated area into small odd parcels.

The council labeled the hearing a first reading and said the ordinance will be advertised; a full public hearing and second reading are scheduled at the council’s next meeting after the required advertising period. The first reading moved forward after the discussion; councilmembers were given time to review an updated ordinance that adjusts parcel IDs in the draft.