ITEM TITLE:
Approval of a Recommendation to City Council to Grant a 237.25 Foot Long and 10 Foot Wide Utility Easement on City of Valdez Owned Block 2 Amended Mineral Creek Subdivision - North Portion, Plat #66-27M.
SUBMITTED BY: Paul Nylund - Senior Planner/GIS Technician
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: N/A
Unencumbered Balance: N/A
Funding Source: N/A
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve a recommendation to City Council to grant a 237.25 foot long and 10 foot wide utility easement on City of Valdez owned Block 2 Amended Mineral Creek Subdivision - North Portion, Plat #66-27M.
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
The City of Valdez Planning Department received an application from Copper Valley Telecom (CVTC), for a utility easement across land owned by the City of Valdez.
The requested easement is on the Barney Meyring Park Strip just north of Pioneer Drive, is 10 feet wide and runs 237.25 feet along the route shown in the attached Exhibit 1. This easement will link two already existing easements and establish an easement for conduit which is already in place. The conduit is 11/2” in diameter and is buried between 2 and 3’ deep.
This authorization is consistent with VMC Section 13.5. Public Utility Franchises. “The city may grant a franchise to any person for the use of the streets, alleys, bridges, easements and other public places of the city for the furnishing of any public utility service to the city and its inhabitants.”
The City has the authority to establish an easement as stated by VMC 16.24.070 Dedication-Utility Easements which states: “The platting authority may require the dedication of utility easements when a utility company or the city demonstrates a specific need for them.”
The land on which this proposed easement would be located is classified as “New Townsite Neighborhood” in the 2021 Valdez Comprehensive Plan revision. The establishment of this easement, and the resulting installation of a fibre optic line could have impacts on the future development of this property.
If the Planning and Zoning Commission approves this recommendation to Council, and Council votes in favor of the authorization, the utility easement will be granted via resolution and the easement document will be recorded to plat #66.27M. CVEA will cover all the costs.