Committee forwards petition to vacate 10-foot alley segment in Gideon district to council

The Planning and Zoning Committee on Jan. 13 voted to forward to city council an ordinance (item 25-0-03) to vacate and close a 10-foot-wide, 120-foot-long segment of an alley south of Tenth Avenue east of Twentieth Street in the Gideon district.

Kathy Burns, Huntington's Director of Development and Planning, told the committee that OEA Real Estate, the petitioner, owns properties on both sides of the alley segment — a building at 207 Tenth Avenue and an adjacent parking lot at 201 Tenth Avenue — and that both parcels are zoned C-1 Neighborhood Commercial. Burns said the petition covers the northern portion of the unnamed alley that connects the 2000 block of Tenth Avenue to the 2000 block of Guthrie Court.

Burns said no structures are proposed on the abandoned alley and that the abandonment would "enhance OEA's investment." She told the committee the alley segment was appraised at $2,100 and that OEA had deposited a check with the city's legal department to be held pending approval. Burns also reported that the Huntington Planning Commission met in December and voted to forward the abandonment petition to city council with a positive recommendation.

A committee member moved to forward the ordinance to full council with a favorable recommendation and another member seconded (the transcript names Miss Malau as the seconder). The committee approved forwarding item 25-0-03 to council. The committee did not record public comment at the meeting. The next step is full council consideration.