Winona Council Approves Vacating Lawns Of The Court Alley
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
WINONA LAKE – Winona Lake Town Council Tuesday night approved vacating an alley between Auditorium Boulevard and Administration Boulevard. A public hearing on the vacation was held Tuesday and eight to ten residents attended to express their support in vacating the alley. Jan and Jerry Nelson, Court Street residents, attended the hearing to express their concern for vacating the alley. Richard, Ruth and Kristen Long, Daniel and Melissa Clemens, Andrew and Deborah Kerr and Christopher and Tiffany Volkers filed a petition to vacate the right-of-way between lots 119 and 120 in the town and between lots 3, 4 and 5 of Lawns of the Court. Virginia and Harold Smith, Connie Jo Kaiser and Paul Siebenmorgen filed a petition to vacate undeveloped right-of-way for lots 133 and 134 and lot 8 of the Lawns of the Court. The council approved ordinances to vacate the north and south ends of the Lawns of the Court. Attorney Scott Reust filed the petition on behalf of the residents who wanted the alley vacated. Jan Nelson read a two-page letter expressing her opposition to the alley being vacated. Nelson also presented the council with a petition signed by she, her husband and two other owners of Tennis Street properties opposing vacation of the grass alley at the end of Auditorium Boulevard. Jan said there have been extreme weather conditions when the Auditorium Boulevard exit was the only one cars could use to get out of the interior of Lawns of the Courts. “We need to be assured fire, emergency, utility and service vehicles can reach the rear of our homes. The houses around Lawns of the Courts are so close together, cars cannot go between them in other places. The private north and south access easements are not accessible in emergencies,” Jan said. Beth Arguelles, 807 Court St., said she had concern with safety in the alley that she supported being vacated. Arguelles said the alley is dangerous for people to come down and there are children playing there and the alley needs to be vacated. Ruth Long, 309 Administration Boulevard, also said it is a narrow driveway and children play there. “Something is going to happen, it’s like an accident waiting to happen. The alley is not meant to be a main thoroughfare,” Long said. “We are trying to make this safe and have continuous property and not having trucks, cars and vehicles going through the back of our property.”
