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STRATEGIC OUTCOMES |
ACTION |
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Department: |
☐ Safe & Prosperous |
☐ Motion |
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City Administration |
☐ Active & Appealing |
☐ Resolution |
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☐ Respected & Responsible |
☒ Ordinance - Introduction |
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Division: |
☐ Connected & Engaged |
☐ Ordinance - Adoption |
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Administration |
☐ Unique & Creative |
☐ Public Hearing |
TITLE:
title
Vacation and Authorization to Sell Surplus Property: Livingston Ranch Phase I
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SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION:
Summary Recommendation
Vacate 1,457 feet of 30-foot right-of-way north of Livingston Ranch Phase I and authorize the City of Yuma to sell the surplus property to adjacent landowners in Livingston Ranch. (Community Development) (Alyssa Linville)
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STRATEGIC OUTCOME:
This request supports the City Council’s strategic outcomes of Safe and Prosperous and Respected and Responsible, by ensuring City-owned land is used in a practical and beneficial way. Abandoning unused right-of-way allows the land to be incorporated into neighboring properties, returning it to productive use and the tax base. This approach reflects the City’s commitment to efficient land management, responsible use of public resources, and thoughtful decision-making that benefits the community as a whole.
REPORT:
The City of Yuma (“City”) owns approximately 43,710 square feet of right-of-way (1,457 feet by 30 feet) north of Livingston Ranch Phase I and south of Central Canal in Yuma, Arizona (the “ROW”) that the City does not plan to pave or otherwise develop as shown on the attached location map. The ROW is adjacent to nineteen residential properties located between 3620 West and 3958 West on 36th Street in Livingston Ranch. Since the City has no plans to improve or use the ROW, most of the adjacent nineteen homeowners have asked the City to vacate the ROW, pursuant to A.R.S. § 28-7205, so the homeowners can expand their backyards and place the land into beneficial use.
A.R.S. § 28-7205 allows the City to vacate right-of-way to adjacent landowners (here, the nineteen homeowners), but A.R.S. § 28-7208 requires adjacent landowners to pay the City “an amount deemed by the governing body to be commensurate with the value of the abandoned roadway.” A.R.S. § 28-7215(B) further provides: “If a governing body determines that a public roadway has no public use or no market value, the governing body may vacate the public roadway without compensation . . . if the person taking the public roadway agrees to assume the costs of maintaining the public roadway and the liability for the public roadway.”
City staff recommends City Council vacate the ROW with a finding that it has no public use. Next, City staff recommends City Council authorizes the City to sell the nineteen separate segments of the ROW property to the nineteen adjacent homeowners, contingent upon each homeowner accepting the cost and liability for the applicable ROW segment and reimbursing the City, on a proportionate basis, for the following costs incurred by the City:
• $9,000 -- to clean up the ROW and remove cement remnants of an old irrigation ditch;
• $20,000 - for legal surveys to obtain legal descriptions of the ROW and all the nineteen ROW segments;
• $20,000 - to complete a lot tie for each ROW segment and the adjacent homeowner’s parcel;
• $128,924 - estimated cost to construct a uniform 6” concrete block subdivision wall along the north and west side boundaries of the ROW.
• Total: $177,924
The total cost ($177,924) divided by the ROW length (1,457 feet) equals $122.12 per linear foot. The amount homeowners will reimburse the City depends on the width of their backyards (i.e., the length of the ROW segments they receive from the City). For example, if the ROW segment received is 100 feet, the homeowner will pay the City $12,212, or $4.07 per square foot. If the ROW segment received is 50 feet, the homeowner will pay the City $6,106, or $4.07 per square foot for the ROW segment.
Title to each ROW segment will not transfer to the applicable homeowner until payment from the homeowner is received in full by the City. Additionally, upon receiving ownership, the homeowner must allow the City to complete the lot-tie within ninety days or the ROW segment reverts back to the City. Each homeowner will be responsible for demolition costs associated with removing the existing backyard subdivision wall and for extending backyard sidewalls to the new subdivision wall. The homeowners also agree to maintain, repaint, and repair as needed, the new subdivision wall into the future.
The City has collected fourteen signed purchase and sale agreements from the nineteen property owners agreeing to these conditions. The ROW segment associated with the five remaining properties will remain City property until the applicable homeowners agree to reimburse the City’s costs as described above.
FISCAL REQUIREMENTS:
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CITY FUNDS: |
$ 0.00 |
BUDGETED: |
$ 0.00 |
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STATE FUNDS: |
$ 0.00 |
AVAILABLE TO TRANSFER: |
$ 0.00 |
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FEDERAL FUNDS: |
$ 0.00 |
IN CONTINGENCY: |
$ 0.00 |
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OTHER SOURCES: |
$ 0.00 |
FUNDING ACCOUNT/FUND #/CIP: |
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TOTAL |
$ 0.00 |
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FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT:
Vacating the ROW and approving the sale of surplus property will benefit the homeowners in Livingston Ranch Phase I and be revenue neutral to the City.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS NOT ATTACHED TO THE CITY COUNCIL ACTION FORM THAT ARE ON FILE IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK:
NONE
IF CITY COUNCIL ACTION INCLUDES A CONTRACT, LEASE OR AGREEMENT, WHO WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ROUTING THE DOCUMENT FOR SIGNATURE AFTER CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL?
☐ Department
☐ City Clerk’s Office
☐ Document to be recorded
☐ Document to be codified
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Acting City Administrator: |
Date: |
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John D. Simonton |
1/12/2026 |
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Reviewed by City Attorney: |
Date: |
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Richard W. Files |
1/12/2026 |