Commission backs vacation of 41st Avenue segment to support Prairie Parkway replat

The Moorhead Planning Commission voted April 6 to recommend that the City Council vacate a portion of 41st Avenue South and adjacent 10-foot utility easements within the Prairie Parkway development to enable a redesign of the subdivision.

Assistant City Planner Brittney Cameron presented the request from Lowry Engineering on behalf of Prairie Parkway 2 LLC, explaining the proposed vacation covers right-of-way and utility easements located between approximately 2520 and 2571 41st Avenue South. Cameron said the vacation supports converting the area to a large green space with a storm-water pond that will serve lots in the redesigned (fourth-edition) plat and that underground infrastructure already installed in the area will be abandoned; she said abandonment of the installed pipes is the developer’s cost. No public comments were received during the hearing.

During discussion a commissioner asked clarifying questions about access and previous plats; staff provided background that earlier plats (second edition, approved in 2025) had been replatted toward a fourth-edition design and that the developer recently began construction in some areas. Staff said the redesign maintains two points of access for emergency services and that a further new plat filing by the developer is expected in the coming months. The commission moved and seconded a recommendation to approve the vacation, contingent on the four conditions in the staff report, and approved the recommendation by voice vote.

The recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for final action. The staff report lists four conditions of approval; staff noted the developer will bear costs to abandon existing underground infrastructure in the vacated area.