CY07-25

Request of Brett Skilbred, on behalf of the owner, Grace Baptist Church, for the vacation of a portion of Lind Street between 6^th and 7^th Avenue and for the vacation of a portion of an alley located in Block 6, Columbia Park subdivision. The subject property is described as that portion of Lind Street located between 6^th Avenue and 7^th Avenue and adjacent to Blocks 6 and 11, Columbia Park Addition and 100 feet of alley located between Lots 7 and 8 and 9 and 10, Block 6, Columbia Park Addition, Mankato. (600 Lind Street, etal).

The anticipated date of City Council action is April 14, 2025. 
 

Brett Skilbred, on behalf of the petitioner Grace Baptist Church, is the applicant. 

The applicants are seeking the vacation of Lind Street between 6th and 7th Avenue, and the vacation of a portion of an alley located in Block 6, Columbia Park subdivision. 

The subject property is on Lind Street, between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue, as well as a portion of an alley located in an existing residential block.

 The area being requested for vacation is a developed, platted public street and a portion of a developed, platted public alley. The street and alley are being used for as much.

The areas of the proposed vacation are surrounded by R-3, Limited Multiple Family Dwelling District, zoning designations. 

There are no known environmentally sensitive areas within the subject vacation areas. 

There are utilities within the proposed vacation areas. 

Mankato City Charter, Section 10.04 - Vacation of Streets and Alleys, can be found here: https://library.municode.com/mn/mankato/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_CH10MIPR_S10.04VASTAL

The Site Plan and Traffic Advisory Committee reviewed the request at their February 11, 2025 meeting and provided the following comments. The applicant's subsequent responses are also included in italics. 

1. Applicant shall dedicate (through platting) right-of-way for the relocated alley. The right-of-way width shall be sufficient to accommodate a fire truck turning movement. A new right-of-way is necessary prior to or in conjunction with an approved vacation. Applicant's response: Noted. Applicant will engage Mankato Public Safety at the appropriate time to discuss emergency service needs in the alley.
2. Applicant shall provide appropriate legal descriptions for all modified property.  Applicant's response: Noted. Applicant will have a survey completed and legal description drafted at the appropriate time.
3. Applicant shall be responsible for all costs and plans to improve/establish the relocated alley from its northern terminus to 6th Avenues to meet applicable City standards and shall be designed and built in a manner to accommodate a fire truck turning movement. If vacation is approved, all improvements will be required prior to vacation implementation. Applicant's response: Noted. Applicant will work with City engineers to determine appropriate design standards to include in the final plan. In addition, applicant will look to guidance from existing similar infrastructure in the neighborhood.
4. Applicant shall provide a traffic study/memo to understand the traffic impacts of this vacation. Applicant's response: Noted. A traffic memo will be drafted and submitted at the appropriate time.
5. Applicant shall provide an accurate site plan depicting items such as: 
    i. New property boundaries and right-of-way(s) 
    ii. Removed nonconformities in the 6TH Avenue right-of-way 
    iii. The relocated alley 
    iv. Reestablishment of a boulevard in both 6TH and 7TH Avenues 
    v. Elimination of direct access to 6TH and 7TH Avenues at their Lind Street intersections to avoid promoting cut through traffic through private property 
    vi. Planned improvements meeting the stated goals of vacating Lind Street 
   
   Applicant's response: Notes. Applicant will expand the application design to include these items in the final plan to be completed by a civil engineer licensed in the State of MN at the appropriate time.
6. Applicant plans for constructed improvements shall be prepared by a civil engineer licensed in the State of Minnesota. Applicant's response: As stated previously, final plans will be prepared by a civil engineer licensed in the State of Minnesota at the appropriate time
7. Applicant stormwater management needs shall be evaluated based on any planned improvements. Applicant's response: Noted. As previously stated, applicant will look to guidance from existing similar infrastructure in the neighborhood.
8. If approved, the applicant shall provide easements to all private utilities. Applicant's response: Noted.
9. Applicants are informed that there are financial implications to this request, if approved, such as but not limited to: constructing new improvements both public and private, removing nonconformities in the 6th Avenue right-of-way, altered pending assessments for the Germania Park Phase 4 project, altered preliminary assessments for the planned Germania Park Phase 5 project. The scale of improvements needed far exceeds the anticipated cost of Germania Park Phase 5 assessments. Applicant's response: Noted. Please provide a detailed list of items and forecasted costs that support the conclusion in the preceding sentence. Additionally, please provide detailed accounts of how all nonconformities in the Germania Park neighborhood are being removed consistent with the above statements.
10. Applicant shall clarify what is desired in relation to the vacation of Lind Street. The plat of Columbia Park Additional depicts a Lind Street right of way width of 66 ft. Submitted plans show the vacation description of 55 feet. Applicant's response: The applicant is requesting vacation of the full Lind St. ROW between 6 and 7th Aves as well as the alley where it abuts applicant owned property.
11. Applicant shall provide consent from all properties along alley agreeing to vacation. At present, 2 of the 9 of the property owners located along the subject alley have provided their consent. Applicant's response: Noted. Two signatures were cut off from the application submittal. They are now attached to this email. Including these two, signatures have been submitted for the following addresses: • 2021 7th Ave • 2017 7th Ave • 2011 7Th Ave • 2005 7th Ave • 602 Harper St • 2016 6th Ave Those signatures not collected include the following: • 626 Harper - does not have alley access. • 2008 6th Ave – unavailable. Sent request through USPS and followed up with 4 in-person attempts. • 2020 6th Ave – owned by the City of Mankato and the signature request was denied. 
12. The recommendation of the Site Plan and Traffic Advisory Committee is denial based on the information provided, the findings that Lind Street is still useful for public purposes, that retention of the public right of way is in the best interest of the residents of the city and that Lind Street and the requested alley remain useful for the purpose for which they are laid out. Applicant's response: Noted. Please present data to support the findings. 
13. Applicant shall log on to the eportal and make notification payments if they have not already been paid. Applicant's response: Done.

Brett Skilbred, representing the owner and petitioner, Grace Baptist Church, requests the vacation of a portion of Lind Street between 6th and 7th Avenue, as well as a portion of an alley located in Block 6 of the Columbia Park Subdivision. The subject property is generally described as the section of Lind Street situated between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue, adjacent to Blocks 6 and 11 of the Columbia Park Addition, and a 100-foot segment of the alley located between Lots 7 and 8 and Lots 9 and 10 in Block 6 of the Columbia Park Addition in Mankato (600 Lind Street, et al.).

The submitted "Street/Alley Vacation Description" documentation delineates the proposed vacation of the platted and developed section of Lind Street between 6th and 7th Avenue. The Lind Street vacation area measures approximately 66 feet in width and 295 feet in length, located between Lots 1 and 4 in Block 11 and Lots 8 and 9 in Block 6 of the Columbia Park Addition. The requested alley vacation area spans approximately 15 feet in width and 100 feet in length, situated between Lots 7, 8, 9, and 10 in Block 6. The Columbia Park Addition plat dedicates "all right, title, and interest in and to the streets and alleys as shown thereon and dedicates the same to public use in perpetuity." The street is currently developed and utilized as a public roadway, while the alley serves as a functional public alley.

Plans accompanying the submission indicate the proposed vacation of Lind Street between 6th and 7th Avenue, with a notation for a new 24-foot entrance driveway to be located south of the existing Lind Street corridor along 6th Avenue. Additionally, a "future entrance driveway" is depicted on 7th Avenue. However, the submission lacks engineered documentation detailing the proposed closure of the Lind Street corridor at 6th and 7th Avenue, including plans for reestablishing boulevard areas.

A new "Alley ROW" [Right-of-Way] featuring a 30-foot radius connection to the existing alley is depicted with access to 6th Avenue. However, a formal plat, the city's standard mechanism for dedicating a new alley location and configuration, has not been provided.

Within the proposed vacation area, a "U"-shaped drop-off area near the entrance to the church is shown, along with rectangular parking stalls outlined in yellow in the western portion of the vacated Lind Street area. Additional parking stalls are shown on the currently vacant parcel adjacent to 7th Avenue.

Petitions submitted in support of the request include signatures from all property owners abutting the proposed vacation areas. Grace Baptist Church and the Michel Family Revocable Living Trust have submitted petitions for the vacation of parcels adjoining the affected public ways. Additionally, the applicant has sought authorization from other property owners along the alley in Block 6 who do not directly abut the vacation areas. Of the nine property owners along the alley, four have provided consent.

The Petition to Vacate was submitted alongside a request for utility companies to review the impact of the proposed vacation on existing infrastructure. CenterPoint Energy, Charter Communications, Consolidated Communications, and Xcel Energy all indicated the presence of utilities within the affected right-of-way. Additionally, some companies noted planned future builds within the proposed vacation areas. CenterPoint Energy formally objected to the request, citing the presence of a gas main and service lines within the alley portion slated for vacation. CenterPoint emphasized that this gas main is a critical component of its distribution system and raised concerns regarding either reimbursement for relocation costs or the reservation of suitable easement rights. The submitted materials do not include provisions for relocating the gas line or reserving an easement.

The petitioner states the reasons for the request as follows:

1. To improve safety for congregation members and staff crossing Lind Street between the only off-street parking lot and the front entrance of the church and school.
2. To facilitate safe drop-off and pick-up for students attending Grace Christian School, Monday through Friday.
3. To provide safe parking for student drivers, faculty, and staff of Grace Christian School.
4. To control alley traffic that currently cuts through the church’s off-street parking lot.
5. To allocate funds that would have been used for Lind Street improvements toward creating safer off-street parking on the south side of the building.

The City Council, with input from the City Planning Commission, holds the authority to vacate or discontinue public streets and alleys. A key consideration in this decision is whether the street and alley areas remain useful.

Lind Street between 6th and 7th Avenue is a platted and developed local street providing vehicular access and traffic circulation within the residential neighborhood. It serves as an essential corridor for local traffic and emergency access. The Minnesota Supreme Court has recognized that platted streets are primarily intended to provide ingress and egress to bordering lots and to connect with other streets for the benefit of both local residents and the general public (Church of Sts. Peter and Paul of Lake George v. Lake George Tp., 89 N.W.2d 708 at 711).

In addition to vehicular and pedestrian use, the platted right-of-way along Lind Street accommodates essential utilities, including gas, communication, and power lines, which are present on both sides of the public way. As stated above, CenterPoint Energy, Charter Communications, Consolidated Communications, and Xcel Energy all indicated the presence of utilities within the affected right-of-way. Additionally, some companies noted planned future builds within the proposed vacation areas. CenterPoint Energy formally objected to the request, citing the presence of a gas main and service lines within the alley portion slated for vacation. CenterPoint emphasized that this gas main is a critical component of its distribution system and raised concerns regarding either reimbursement for relocation costs or the reservation of suitable easement rights. 

The alley within the proposed vacation area provides primary access to off-street parking and garages for some adjacent properties. While alleys are not typically intended for general traffic circulation, they serve as the exclusive access point for rear-lot parking and provide a critical route for maintenance and emergency vehicles. Moreover, the alley serves as a utility corridor supporting connections that extend beyond the immediately adjacent properties. If vacated without proper planning, the alley could create a dead-end condition, which would be problematic in the absence of engineering drawings or a plat dedicating a new alleyway.

Evidence demonstrates that both Lind Street and the alley remain functional and essential for current traffic circulation and utility infrastructure. Additionally, future neighborhood development may increase the necessity of these public ways. On February 24, 2025, the City Council is set to consider a Land Use Plan amendment referral for the development of new residential housing along 8th Avenue. This future development is expected to rely on Lind Street as a key access corridor, contributing to approximately 30% of the entering and exiting trip distribution for the area. The absence of Lind Street could significantly impact traffic patterns, though no data has been provided to assess the extent of these impacts.

Further, the Mankato City Council adopted the Jefferson Quarry Redevelopment Plan on September 11, 2023, incorporating it into the city’s Land Use Plan. The 54-acre Jefferson Quarry site, located in the same neighborhood, is expected to generate additional traffic as redevelopment progresses. Future studies will assess the impact of this redevelopment, but current deliberations regarding the Lind Street vacation should consider these broader neighborhood implications.

When evaluating the public interest, considerations extend beyond the immediate neighbors. The statutory requirement for vacation necessitates demonstrating that the street is no longer useful to the public. Here, the existing connectivity provided by Lind Street and the essential access and utility functions of the alley serve not just adjacent landowners but the broader community. Utility infrastructure within the proposed vacation areas is critical for a wider service network, requiring ongoing maintenance and repair access.
 

Staff respectfully submits the following findings of fact for the vacation request for Lind Street between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue and for the vacation of a portion of an alley located in Block 6, Columbia Park Addition. 

1. The portion of Lind Street requested for vacation by this petition is useful and necessary for public purposes. The street is currently used for public roadway purposes, provides ingress and egress throughout the neighborhood and is an essential corridor, creates traffic circulation for the neighborhoods, as well as the public at large, and is the location of utilities and utility infrastructure. 
2. The portion of the alley requested for vacation with this request is necessary and useful for public purposes. The alley provides a connection between two streets, provides a location for utilities and utility infrastructure, represents an essential corridor and provides access to the abutting residential properties, including for emergency vehicles. 
3. The portion of Lind Street and the alley requested for vacation with this request serve the interests of the public and remain useful for public purposes. Emergency access to the areas is necessary. Utilities are located within each corridor.
4. In addition to current usefulness, future development demonstrates the need for the Lind Street corridor for public usage as part of a traffic study that was submitted for a Land Use Plan amendment.

Staff recommends denial of the requested vacations.