Staff recommends that Council acknowledge the receipt of petition to vacate a portion of the alley right of way adjacent to Lots 13 and 14, Block 5, of the Original Town of Billings, and set a public hearing for August 9, 2021.

The Western Towers apartment complex, located at 429 North 33rd Street, was recently purchased by Apex Billings, LLC.  The complex is bordered by an alley along the south side of the property.  The complex also has a retaining wall along the southern boundary.  With the purchase of the apartment complex, it was determined that the existing retaining wall encroaches on the alley right of way by 1-foot.  Apex is requesting the city vacate 1-foot of the alley right-of-way.  YMCA owns the property on the other side of the alley.  Apex is going to purchase 1-foot of property from the YMCA and dedicate it to the city for the alley.  The alley will then remain 20-feet in width.  Since this process is a trade in land with no net property lost or gained, there would be no compensation from Apex for the right-of way-vacation.  Attached is exhibit showing the proposed vacation and dedication.

City Council may:

• Approve acknowledgment of petition to vacate the above-mentioned right-of-way and set a public hearing for August 9, 2021.
• Do not acknowledge the petition and terminate the right-of-way vacation process.  

There is no financial impact to the city to acknowledge the petition and set a public hearing date.