04-14-2003 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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r ' i To:Wendy Bottcnberg, City Planner Chair Smith and Planning Commissioners, From: Date: Mike Gaffron, Planning Director March 11.2003 Subject: Proposed Vacation of Alley Adjacent to 3753 Casco Avenue Mr. Kail has requested that the 14* alley located between his property and the adjacent property at 3721 Casco Avenue be vacated. The apparent purpose of the vacation is to gain land as credit toward the 15% lot coverage allowance, to allow construction of a larger residence. This alley was dedicated in the plat ofCasco Heights in 1911. The alley was dedicated forthe public use, and while it may have seen minimal public use in the past, certain aspects of its location suggest potentially greater use in the future: 1.The alley provides a 14* wide continuous straight corridor between Casco Avenue and Casco Point Road. 2.It provides a potential pedestrian connection from the Casco Avenue / Caroline Avenue / Ethel Avenue neighborhood to the City beach at Carm-n Avenue. 3.While a portion of the alley south of the Kail site may be wetland, the possibility for use of the alley in the future via a walkway through the wetlands, or for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing access to the Lake via the beach in the winter, should not be minimized. 4.The property adjacent to the alley directly behind the Kail site is City-owned undeveloped land, used for stormwater drainage purposes. We cannot predict the value of this alley as a corridor for future stormwater need.«-, but we shouldn ’t eliminate any possibilities. Likewise, as City land, the area behind Kail may have potential park uses that are currently not on the radar screen, and this alley provides potential access for such use. 5.Past utility use of the alley may be minimal. However, we cannot predict the need for future utility use of the corridor, and because it connects two main residential streets, there are likely possible future uses for public utilities (such as sewer & water, gas, telephone, electric, cable TV, or other communications needs) that we cannot now envision. The City Council in recent years has expressed a strong awareness of the value of public access to the lake. This corridor has potential to provide connectivity between an off-lake neighborhood and the lake. In recent years the Council has expressed a general reluctance to vacate public rights-of- way that are in use, especially in Orono ’s defined Urban Area (the '/j- acre and 1-acre zones, including Casco Point). While this alley may have had minimal use in the past, it has significant potential for future public use. 1 would refer you to the attached excerpts from Orono ’s 2000-2020 Communits Management Plan, Pages 4A-32 & 4A-33 regarding preservation of lake access, which has applicability even though this alley does not directly abut the lake. Vacation of this alley would in my opinion not be in the best interests of the City.