Neighbors can band together and petition the city to pave their alley if the City Council approves the second reading of a new ordinance on May 12. But you and your neighbors must pay for it.
In this story:
- What are the cost estimates?
- How does it work now and what changes if it gets final approval?
- Can someone opt out?
- What if a contractor damages the new alley you just paid for?
“I think this is probably one of the most frequent requests that I have from constituents,” said David Glasheen, District 3 city councilman.
Glasheen was speaking during Tuesday’s City Council meeting before a unanimous vote to approve the measure.
“I think this is a great change. There’s going to be demand for this,” Glasheen said.
Christy Martinez Garcia, District 1 councilwoman, had questions about billing and payments, saying, “How would you collect the payment? Does this come out of their utilities? Is there a separate payment process? How does that work?”
Erik Rejino, assistant city manager, answered, “It’d be a separate payment. … We would basically do an assessment – bill them. … They would be assessed a lien if they did not pay it.”
Tim Collins, District 6 councilman, asked “Is there a provision to opt out?”
For an entire neighborhood – yes. For one person outvoted by the neighbors – no.
How much $$$ would it cost?
Rejino told the City Council he worked up examples for a cost estimate – one high-density neighborhood and one low-density.
“It’s going to range on the alley, depending on the complexity of the drainage and the utilities,” Rejino said.
• Example 1: Total cost of $71,000 would be roughly $3,700 if every property owner had the same linear feet of alley.
• Example 2: Total cost of more than $100,000 would be $8,400 per lot if every property owner had the same linear feet of alley.
“If I have more linear footage, I’ll have a higher cost,” Rejino said.
Alley paving before and after the ordinance
Under the city’s Uniform Development Code, which began in early 2019, developers are required to pave alleys.
Rejino said, “Since that change, we’re also seeing a lot of no-alley subdivisions. That’s becoming more and more common.”
Collins said, “Very few alleys have been paved by the city. Private developers have done it.”
Rejino replied to him saying, “That is correct. The city does not pave alleys.”
“The process today – there is a process to do it, but it’s very informal. If a group of citizens wants to get together and basically put some funds together to do that, they can certainly do that,” Rejino said.
Those same citizens, as it stands today, need to find a design firm and meet city specs for construction. They have to pay the contractors themselves. Not impossible – but also not something most citizens know how to do.
The ordinance, if passed, still keeps the cost burden with citizens – starting with a $500 application fee.
If the application is accepted, the city will do a feasibility study, partial design, come up with a cost estimate and then bid out contractors for the final design, utility relocation and construction.
Then, 30 percent of the cost must be paid up front. There is a way to hit the brakes if the cost estimate is higher than neighbors want to pay. (We’ll get to that.)
Folks can pay the remaining bill in a lump sum – or there’s a payment plan.
“We are proposing to offer a 12-month payment plan. So, no interest will be charged unless they’re late or they pass that 12 months. … If they haven’t paid, then they would be assessed the appropriate late charges and finance charges,” Rejino said.
If the cost at the project’s end is more than 5 percent higher than the cost estimate, the city can bill the property owners for the extra amount. If it’s more than 5 percent lower, the city will issue a refund.
Petitions – submitting and canceling
The petition needs at least two-thirds of the property owners to sign up in favor. Those in favor must represent at least 51 percent of the frontage of the alley. And the petition is still subject to approval by the city’s Engineering Department.
The city will not pave part of an alley. It’s all or none.
If neighbors do not like the cost estimate, they can withdraw the petition if one-third or more of the property owners agree or if the owners who want to back out represent at least 50 percent of the alley frontage.
Some limits:
- The ordinance does not guarantee a timeline.
- It does not create a “contractual relationship,” and there is no “vested right” to get the alley construction done.
- Nothing in the proposed ordinance prevents someone from paying the $500 to try again after a withdrawn petition.
Councilman Gordon Harris said, “You were … saying they’d have to get a petition for 51 percent of their neighbors to get it paved. Does the cost also go to the other 49 percent?”
The answer was yes.
Harris clarified again, “Without their choice?”
Rejino answered, “Every property owner benefiting will be assessed.”
Collins said, “It looks to me like from this, 51 percent of your neighbors … can actually force you to participate in this financially, whether you have a rear entry garage or a desire to have a paved alley or not.”
The answer from Rejino was to repeat the idea of “all or none” and further explained, “Everybody would be assessed.”
“We can’t just do a portion of an alley. So that’s part of the reason it’s structured that way. … You may still have the one or two or three that don’t want to do it. … They would have that assessment because they would benefit from it,” Rejino said.
Glasheen spoke highly of the idea, saying, “We found the balance to have most of the costs carried by the people who are going to benefit from the project. I do think in the end, it’s going to help the city to have good quality, consistent alleyways and make things like trash pickup easier,” Glasheen said.
Mayor Mark McBrayer pointed out the benefit to the city as a whole, saying, “Our alleys are rough on our trash-pickup trucks.”
“I understand the critics,” McBrayer said.
But his defense of the idea was, “[It takes] a supermajority to approve it and a super minority that can kill the project.”
Rejino said, “We won’t have to go re-grade the alley or maintain the alley necessarily as much. So, over time we think it will save maintenance costs as well. It’s a good thing. It’s a win-win.”
Who pays if utility contractor destroys new paving?
Collins pointed out a problem with paved alleys he personally gets stuck with.
“Our alleyway – now particularly behind my house – is in very bad condition. We’ve had utility contractors come in and cut the paving … and not replace it adequately. … I’ve paid for it. Yet someone else was able to damage it. And so, I think we need to consider how we might be able to enforce these proper repairs.”
Once the city accepts the new paving on an alley, the neighbors are off the hook, according to Rejino.
“The city would then take it. It would be ours to maintain from that point forward,” Rejino said.
Collins responded, “Oh yeah? I might call you next week.”
Rejino explained, “A contractor, if they’re going to work in the alleyway, they’re required to get a right-of-way permit. And they’re supposed to put it in better condition – or at least similar or better condition – when they put it back.”
He said City Engineer John Turpin and his staff made this a priority, upped the standards and are keeping a close eye on it.
“That is something that’s on our radar because it has been an issue. That’s something that we would have to prioritize in this process,” Rejino said.
Click here to see the city’s summary of the ordinance and to read it for yourself.
