The Philomath City Council voted 6-1 Monday night to direct staff to prepare an ordinance vacating a narrow unimproved alleyway located between two residential lots near North Eighth Street with Mayor Christopher McMorran casting the lone dissenting vote.
The applicant, Scott Ramsey, submitted a request to vacate the 13.67-foot-wide alley situated between two lots just north of the railroad tracks between North Eighth and North Ninth streets. Ramsey was unable to attend the hearing due to a scheduling conflict.
City Manager Chris Workman explained that Ramsey owns both lots on either side of the alley and intends to build a new home on the currently vacant lot to the west. Vacating the alley would give him enough land to meet setback requirements for the new construction.
“He’s looking for enough land that he can put a home on there and meet his setback requirements, so they’ll have side yard, front yard and backyard requirements,” Workman said.
Workman said city staff reviewed the alley for any infrastructure concerns — including sewer, water and storm lines — and found no conflicts. He also noted that the railroad to the south significantly limits any realistic future need for the corridor.
“We just don’t see any real public need for that alleyway,” Workman said. “We don’t see any issues from the staff level.”
Workman added historical context, noting that around 2015 or 2016, the city vacated dozens of similar residential alleyways citywide — and that this particular alley was on that list at the time. Ramsey had written a letter then asking that it be removed from the list, saying he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with it yet. Workman said no problems have emerged from those earlier vacations.
McMorran said he understood the rationale but expressed a general reluctance to relinquish public property.
“I just don’t like the idea of us vacating alleyways in general, or vacating anything really, just because I feel like it always comes back to bite us in some way,” McMorran said. “I think publicly controlled goods should remain public.”
McMorran pointed to a recent situation involving North 20th Street, where a right-of-way vacation tied to an RV park development has complicated potential future sewer line routing along a newly repaved 19th Street. Workman acknowledged that situation but said it remains unresolved and may not ultimately present a problem.
Councilor Rich Saalsaa, retired deputy fire chief, said he saw no emergency services access concerns with the proposal. Workman noted that Ramsey is planning to install a driveway off Eighth Street to serve the new home. Saalsaa added that he personally lives on two vacated alleyways and said such an arrangement tends to simplify property management.
“It makes things a lot cleaner when you’re doing things like what they’re proposing,” Saalsaa said.
No members of the public testified at the hearing.
With the council’s direction, Workman said he will prepare a vacation ordinance to be brought back at the next council meeting. If approved, the ordinance would take effect 30 days later, at which point the city recorder would file it with the county.
