Commission discusses vacating parts of Elgin roads and reducing mapped widths to enlarge private lots; referral to city council planned

During the March 17 meeting the commission considered a resident‑initiated proposal to vacate portions of roadway rights‑of‑way in the Elgin neighborhood.

A property owner (speaker 1) told the commission he had gathered signatures in support and proposed changing recorded street widths from 80 feet to roughly 40–45 feet to make existing lots more usable. He described how narrow lot sizes have constrained development and said, "80 foot wide streets to 40 foot wide streets," as the preferred change. The owner proposed that survey costs to delineate the vacated strips be covered through a special assessment on the benefiting properties.

Commission discussion focused on two procedural points: who would pay and carry out the necessary surveys, and whether reducing the mapped width would help bring nonconforming lots closer to conformance. Staff and commissioners said surveys and acquisition costs are typically paid by the property owners who would acquire the vacated land, and that any decision to vacate an existing public road would be a separate, council‑level action.

Chair (speaker 2) outlined the commission’s role as advisory and said the commission’s motion would be to vote to forward a recommendation of support to city council, which would make the final decision. No formal vote or final council action was recorded at the meeting; the item will be referred to city council for formal review and any required surveying, legal notices and decision-making.