> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.citizenjournal.us/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Hutchinson planners take testimony Tuesday on vacating a South Main alley over Evergy's objection - URL: https://www.citizenjournal.us/hutchinson-planners-take-testimony-tuesday-on-vacating-a-south-main-alley-over-evergys-objection/ - Published: 2026-08-25T14:20:05.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-25T14:20:05.000Z - Description: Planning staff back approval with seven conditions, including one giving City Public Works and franchise utilities the right to remove any portion of the fence needed to maintain the utilities - Author: Rica Simpson - Tags: hutch, dnn, #news Sign up for our free newsletter and never miss a story. [Sign up free](https://subscribe.citizenjournal.us/?ref=citizenjournal.us) Hutchinson's Planning Commission is set to take public testimony Tuesday, Aug. 25, on permanently vacating a platted alley near 729 S. Main so an abutting business can fence it — a request the utility Evergy opposes. According to the planning staff report, applicant Scrap Metal Industries and Brett Clancy propose vacating the entire alley right-of-way between Avenue F and Bigger Street, abutting Lots 1 and 2 on Bigger Street and odd Lots 197-221 on Main Street in the Riverside Addition, to combine the properties on either side and build a fence across it. If approved, the unimproved right-of-way would revert to the abutting property owners in proportion to their existing frontage. The commission only recommends — no vacation is complete until the Hutchinson City Council takes final action and the vacation order and required documents are recorded with the Register of Deeds. Public and franchised utilities run through the alley. The staff report says Evergy prefers the alley not be vacated, citing safety concerns and problems relocating utility lines when the southern portion of Avenue G was vacated north of this request. If the alley is vacated, Evergy asks that an easement be dedicated over the entire alley area, with any line relocation at the applicant's expense. City Engineering and Public Works have no objection but requested a 20-foot easement where the public sanitary sewer and storm water conduits run, and Kansas Gas requested a 10-foot easement. Planning staff encouraged the applicant to meet with Evergy and recommend approval with conditions requiring that the affected utilities approve any relocation before the case goes to the council, that the applicant document that both properties are under the same ownership or file a second petition signed by a representative of the other property, and that all conditions be met within one year or the request is void. At its last meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 11, the commission voted 7-0 to recommend vacating part of the platted building setback at 309 W. 30th Ave., clearing the way for a 19-foot-6-inch by 24-foot detached carport that would encroach 10 feet into the setback, according to the meeting minutes. The minutes state the vacation would also eliminate the existing house's roughly one-foot encroachment into the setback; a nonconforming carport that stood in the same location has been removed. Voting yes were Rod Calhoun, David Inskeep, Rudy Rodriguez, Linda Kelly, Denice Gilliland, David Broadbent and Chair Elaine Carter. Commissioners are also scheduled to decide whether the city's 2027 capital improvement program — [$45,129,139 in requested projects](https://www.citizenjournal.us/p/d849347f-37f4-4b81-81e3-8e8493115bec/) that a staff report from Community Development Director Matt Williams lists as including water, sewer and stormwater work, a bridge replacement, Memorial Hall renovations and building demolition — conforms with the 2017-2037 comprehensive plan. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 125 E. Avenue B, according to the published agenda. Roll call, approval of the Aug. 11 minutes, a public comment period limited to five minutes and adjournment round out the agenda; the commission next meets Tuesday, Sept. 8. *This article was written using our proprietary AI system, Cronkite. The final decision to publish this article was made by a human. For more info, read our* [*AI policy*](https://www.citizenjournal.us/ai-policy/)*.* --- --- Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below: [Contact Us](https://www.citizenjournal.us/contact/) ---