A street vacation, also known as an alley vacation or vacation of public access, is a type of

easement An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a propert ...

in which a government transfers the

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

of a public

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...

, highway or

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane ...

to a private property owner. The process, which varies between cities and states in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, is often used for large-scale

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parcels ...

, where alleys cutting through

city block A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets, not counting any type of thoroughfare within t ...

s are closed for a large building. City laws may require public benefits and other types of compensation in exchange for the approval of a street vacation.

Examples

Alaska

In the

Unorganized Borough The Unorganized Borough is composed of the portions of the U.S. state of Alaska which are not contained in any of its 19 organized boroughs. While referred to as the "Unorganized Borough," it is not a borough itself, as it forgoes that level of ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, vacation of public access easements require approval from the

Alaska Department of Natural Resources The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is a department within the government of Alaska in the United States of America. The department has the mission of responsibly developing Alaska's resources by making them available for maximum use and ...

California

The city of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

requires a $14,980 fee paid to the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering to begin the process of review for street vacations. The process includes a public investigation, environmental review, actions from the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The President of the Los Angeles City Counc ...

, and

public hearing In law, a hearing is a proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer, such as a government agency or a legislative committee. Description A hearing is generally distinguished from a trial in that it is usually shorter and o ...

s before they can be accepted.

Oregon

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, the street vacation process takes approximately 8 to 12 months and includes a formal petition and investigation, public hearings, and action and approval by the Portland City Council.

Washington

Right-of-way vacations in the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

are governed by part of the

Revised Code of Washington The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) is the compilation of all permanent laws currently in force in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Temporary laws such as appropriations acts are excluded. It is published by the Washington State S ...

, allowing for local governments to set their own rules on the process. In

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, the state's largest city, permanent street vacations require the approval of the

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-lar ...

or its transportation committee after the consideration of land use impacts and public benefits provided by the requester. In 2016,

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

was required by the city council to allow 24-hour public access and a "

free speech zone Free speech zones (also known as First Amendment zones, free speech cages, and protest zones) are areas set aside in public places for the purpose of political protesting. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that "Congre ...

" on part of its new downtown headquarters campus in exchange for an alley vacation; other benefits include paying $3.4 million in fair

market value Market value or OMV (Open Market Valuation) is the price at which an asset would trade in a competitive auction setting. Market value is often used interchangeably with ''open market value'', ''fair value'' or ''fair market value'', although the ...

for the alley, a public hill-climb, and

bicycle lane Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor v ...

s. The threat of rejection of a street vacation for political reasons has also been used to halt projects in the Seattle area. In 2013, Mayor

Mike McGinn Michael McGinn (born December 17, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician. He served as mayor of the city of Seattle, Washington, and is a neighborhood activist and a former State Chair of the Sierra Club. In what was characterized as a "s ...

's recommendation to deny a street vacation for

Whole Foods Whole Foods Market IP, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A USDA ...

to build a store in

West Seattle West Seattle is a conglomeration of neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the thirteen districts, Delridge and Southwest, and encompasses all of Seattle west of the Duwamish River. It was incorporated as an i ...

delayed the project until an approved vacation the following year. The threat of a rejection in 2013 of an alley vacation for the

Hyatt Regency Seattle Hyatt Regency Seattle, also known as 808 Howell Street and 8th & Howell, is a high-rise hotel in the Denny Triangle neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States that opened in December 2018. The 45-story hotel, operated by Hyatt, has 1,2 ...

, at the behest of a local hotel workers union, forced the developer to scale back the project, also dropping the proposed public benefit of

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...

units. The development of a new basketball arena in Seattle was blocked by a denied street vacation in 2016, after concerns from the

Port of Seattle The Port of Seattle is a government agency overseeing the seaport and airport of Seattle, Washington, United States. With a portfolio of properties ranging from parks and waterfront real estate, to one of the largest airports and container t ...

over the street's freight use. In 2017, a group of community activists in Seattle negotiated with the

Washington State Convention Center The Seattle Convention Center (SCC), formerly the Washington State Convention Center (WSCC), is a convention center in Seattle, Washington, United States. It consists of several exhibition halls and meeting rooms in buildings along Pike Stree ...

to provide public benefits in exchange for a street vacation for its proposed expansion. The benefits package included $80 million in funds for affordable housing, improved public open spaces, and bicycling and pedestrian improvements.

References

{{Property navbox Real property law in the United States Traffic law