Title
Resolution to Accept Thirty-Four Sidewalks for Public Use (8 Votes Required)
Memorandum
Attached for your review and approval is a resolution to accept thirty-four specific sidewalks located outside of the public street rights-of-way for public use.
On October 21, 2013, City Council approved an ordinance to amend Sections 4:51, 4:58, and 4:60 of Chapter 49 (Sidewalks) of Title IV of the Code of the City of Ann Arbor. This amendment expanded the definition of “sidewalk” to include not only those walkways found in public rights-of-way but also those “within or upon an easement or strip of land taken or accepted by the City or dedicated to and accepted by the City for public use by pedestrians, bicycles, or other non-motorized travel.” These walks are most often found on a strip of land lying between two or more parcels and are commonly referred to as “connector” walks.
Pursuant to that change, staff reviewed a number of such connector walks and determined that thirty-four of those meet the recently amended definition of sidewalk in Chapter 49 and appear suitable for acceptance by the City for public use.
Although these walkways were shown on plat drawings as dedications to the City for public use, the approval or acceptance of a plat by the City by itself is not sufficient to accept a dedication to the public that was noted on the plat drawing. Rather, a resolution that formally and specifically accepted the dedication was required. An amendment in 1978 to the Subdivision Control Act, in particular MCL 560.255b, creates a presumption of acceptance of a dedication to the public ten years after a plat is recorded. However, because a dedication can be rejected or can be withdrawn before it is formally accepted, and to create a clear record and avoid ambiguities as to which dedicated walks have been accepted by the City, formal acceptance of each of these connector walks is recommended.
The attached overall and detailed maps indicate the location of...
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