Title
Vacation of Right-of-Way - Along West Van Buren Street, East of North 9th Avenue (Resolution 21890)
Description
Applicant: Parks and Recreation Department
Request: To vacate certain dedicated right-of-way upon which the Capitol Mall Building (Building) is located, on the southwest corner of North 9th Avenue and West Van Buren Street, for the purposes of enabling a sale process for the Building.
Date of Hearing: N/A. Pursuant to Phoenix City Code Section 31-64, right-of-way determined to no longer be necessary may be presented to the City Council for vacation.
Report
Summary
In January 2020, staff requested and received Parks and Recreation Board approval to proceed with the necessary steps for selling the Building. The Building is currently unoccupied and has numerous facility deficiencies. No funds are currently budgeted in the Parks and Recreation Department's five-year Capital Improvement Program for the repairs and improvements needed to make the Building safe and suitable for use.
In discussions with the Planning and Development as well as the Finance departments, it was determined that the Building is located within a dedicated right-of-way. This conclusion is supported by the historical record, including a recently-discovered 1996 memo from then-Parks and Recreation Director Jim Colley that stated the Woodland Parkway property is legally right-of-way that has been maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department since approximately 1930. Planning and Development staff did not locate any abandonments of the right-of-way where the Building and Woodland Parkway are located. As such, it is staff’s professional opinion that the right-of-way must be vacated for an Assessor Parcel Number (APN) to be assigned and the Building to be saleable.
The Law Department has reviewed the matter and concluded that the result of vacation of the right-of-way would be that the City would take fee title to the vacated road. The City technically owns the fee title to the roads, dedicated per plat in 1897; and therefore, the fee title would vest to the City following the conclusion of the vacation process.
Pursuant to Phoenix City Code Section 31-64, the Street Transportation Department may make a determination that right-of-way is no longer necessary and present it to the City Council for vacation. The Street Transportation Department is supporting the Parks and Recreation Department's request to vacate the right-of-way in question to enable the proposed sale of the Building.
Once the right-of-way is vacated, staff can work with the Maricopa County Assessor to assign an APN as reflected in Attachment A. A separate item is being prepared by the Real Estate Division of the Finance Department for City Council approval to proceed with a brokered sale process for the building.
Location
Along West Van Buren Street, East of North 9th Avenue
Council District: 7
Financial Impact
No impact to the General Fund from the vacation of the right-of-way. Funds from the sale of the Building would be deposited into the Phoenix Parks and Preserves Initiative (PPPI) fund.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Land Use and Livability Subcommittee recommend to approve vacation of the right-of-way upon which the Building is located, as well as approval for a declaration of restrictive covenant and sale process for the Building on Nov. 18, 2020, by a vote of 4-0.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Managers Inger Erickson and Mario Paniagua and the Parks and Recreation and Street Transportation departments.