Jamison Lamp

In a Feb. 24 Brookings City Council meeting, council members voted unanimously in favor of vacating a section of Ninth Street in front of Brown Hall.

Land awaiting vacancy is the portion of Ninth Street from 14th Avenue east to Student Center Lane.

“(Vacating the street) makes the land no longer for public use,” Dan Hanson, planning, zoning and housing administrator said.

“(The city) vacates the street to us so they don’t have to maintain it,” Dean Kattelmann, assistant vice president of facilities and services said.

“Once vacated, SDSU would do snow removal and other maintenance,” Hanson said.

After a record search dating back to 1931, there was no record of the section of Ninth Avenue being vacated to SDSU. Other parts of Ninth Avenue were vacated to SDSU in 1958. The actions being taken are more for clarification.

“All it is, is a paper trail, ” Kattelmann said.

The land would have the potential for future housing expansion or parking.

“This is all tied to the master plan,” Kattelmann said.

Prior to the meeting, Kattelmann was optimistic that the council would approve the measure since all land surrounding the street is owned by SDSU already.

“The city quit maintaining the street 12 to 15 years ago,” Kattelmann said.

After SDSU requested for vacancy, the motion went to the city planning commission, and a recommendation from the committee was sent to the city council.

“We request to vacate, and then the planning commission makes a recommendation to the city council for public hearing and a vote,” Kattelmann said.

SDSU currently maintains four miles of street.