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To close an alley?
09/24/2011 10:51 AM by John M
We are interested in knowing if anyone in C.H. has gone through the process of closing part of an alley. We’ve observed that there are many unused secondary allies in C.H. that have been closed off. Would like to hear from anyone who has attempted this process with the City. We would appreciate any helpful tips that might be useful in our attempt to do the same. You may email us directly at cpandmg2@verizon.net. Thank you.
TAGGED: question
Would it be possible to tell us who you are?
Thanks,
Carlton
A little back ground info would be helpful.
– Why do you want the alley closed?
– How many properties are adjacent to it?
– Would you have the support of the adjoining neighbors? They all have to agree to the closing.
– Are the adjacent properties fenced backing to the alley?
– Would closing the alley impede the ability to move a trash to the street for pick-up?
– The city owns the alleys. If they close it someone needs to maintain the property otherwise a wealth of other problems can occur.
– Would you be buying the alley?
Without knowing where this request is located I’d add that no more alleys should be closed, sidewalks narrowed or lanes widened, or steps left unmaintained or blocked. The urban grid works.
@jsydnor: The alley in question has been in disuse for at least the last 15-20 years. The City has not maintained it for at least that length of time. Even if maintained, the alley is far too narrow for emergency vehicles and refuse trucks to navigate.
@chpnfan:
– Why? To have a little extra space in our back yard.
– How many properties are adjacent to it? 6 not including ours.
– Would you have the support of the adjoining neighbors? Yes, we’ve already discussed it with them.
– Are the adjacent properties fenced backing to the alley? Yes.
– Would closing the alley impede the ability to move a trash to the street for pick-up? No.
– The city owns the alleys. If they close it someone needs to maintain the property otherwise a wealth of other problems can occur. As noted above, the City has not maintained the property for some time now.
– Would you be buying the alley? Yes.
I think if you got your neighbors together and petitioned the city as a group, you might get more traction with the city. I don’t think they’re in the habit of relinquishing city owned property though. They seem to prefer to sit on their un-used, unmaintained sites for purposes known only to them. A few years ago they had a list of city-owned vacant properties and lots that never seemed to change because the beaurocracy involved in buying those properties was a nightmare. All that being said, if you do manage to get some movement from them, please illustrate your methods for others to follow.
Hi Chimbo,
All great answers. Agreed, there are MANY city owned neglected, over grown alleys.
The city will not relinquish the alley. They will sell it to you for fair market value unless they have a reason for keeping it. Existing electrical lines/poles may hinder the request if they are run along that alley.
If it is going to one buyer, great & easier but the neighbors have to agree and sign off on that it would not incumber their use of their property, that they agree to the sale and removing that particular right of way.
Do you need the form?
Chimbo- my main concern is there are several alleys in Church Hill that no longer support vehicular traffic but serve pedestrians very well- old alley near St. Patricks on 25th for example. An even better example are the stairs between Franklin and Main at the end of 27th Street. Those stairs should be saved not left to deteriorate and then closed because someone doesn’t want them used or claims them a hazard.
You could just do what my neighbor did and throw up a wall and claim the alley without any hearing.
#8 Nordy, that’s what happened many times twenty – thirty years ago. However, given the fact that in most cases it’s harder to justify for safety purposes now, it might be prudent of them to try to purchase from the city. (In the past, the alleys were closed to make it harder for a burglar to escape that way, or to case the houses from the vantage point of the alley, for those who don’t understand my reference to safety purposes).
I saw an article in the Baltimore Sun last year about center city neighborhoods there that had blocked alleys using pretty gates, decorative fences, and lots of landscaping, and it had cut back on vandalism and associated stuff like vagrancy and trash problems, along with making the neighborhood much more attractive. I have no problem with closing alleys when they aren’t really in use. The utilities get easements to cover their poles, lines, pipes, etc., same as they do along highways.
#7 jsydnor – that alley next to St. Patrick’s is overgrown with weeds. It used to serve as the way for neighbors to get their supercans down to 25th St. for trash pickup, but now all the trash cans are clotted up against the neighboring condos, and the alley is nearly impassable. Since you admire that alley, would you be interested in helping to cut back some of the undergrowth? I live near it, hence my interest, thanks.
Also, there are stairs at 26th where it deadends at Franklin and the city spent quite a bit of money fixing them up a few years ago, likewise the ones at Libby Terrace and now more recently the ones behind Richmond Hill. Give ’em time and the city will fix the ones at 27th, too.
My neighbor closed our “half” alley a few years ago and without asking anyone’s permission. I am still mad about it. Should this sort of thing go through a process that involves the neighbors? He effective cut all of the rest of us off from the alley that our house abut.
#11 Tiny – I think in this day and age, yes, your neighbor should have asked you. I’m assuming this happened sometime since the year 2000 – back in the 1970’s and even into the 1980’s in some cases, it might not have been so – but you are saying “a few years ago” and if it’s that recent, my personal opinion is that the neighbor should have asked. Is there some way you can open a dialogue with the neighbor? I hope so for your sake.
oh, my neighbor just used a pile of old mattresses to block off the alley for years before finally putting up fences. The fence is an improvement, but i sometimes miss the hello kitty mattress he had on top of the pile
#crd- I love the idea! Lets get a ‘Friends of..” Someone already has lots of flowers planted so it wouldn’t take much.
jsydnor #14 – email John Murden for my contact info, I will shoot him an email that it’s okay to share it with you.
#11 Tiny – If your neighbor went through the proper, legal channels to close the alley, you and all abutting neighbors would have been contacted for permission. You would have received a letter from the City. If you’d like, I can post a link to a website that shows how land parcels are divided in our neighborhood. That will show whether or not the City has closed the alley.
#7 jsydnor – in the past 10 years, the alley has only served “pedestrians” who were either loitering (and littering), squatting or parking illegally.