Council vacates an unused stretch of Highland Avenue behind 602 S. Lincoln

Council has formally given up the Borough’s right to a portion of Highland Avenue that runs behind 602 S. Lincoln Avenue, ending the public’s legal interest in that strip of ground. The action came at the request of the property’s owners, Brian and Hope Shaffer, and followed a public hearing held earlier in the same meeting.

What a street vacation does

To “vacate” a street is to extinguish the public’s right to use a roadway or right-of-way that the Borough no longer needs. In Pennsylvania, when a municipality vacates a street the underlying land typically reverts to the abutting property owners, who then hold it as part of their own parcels rather than as public ground. Vacations are commonly used for paper streets and unimproved alleys — corridors that were laid out on old plans but never opened, paved, or maintained as traveled roads. The hearing that preceded this vote was referenced in the meeting as the “Shaffer Alley Vacation Request.”

How the request was reviewed

Before Council acted, Solicitor Stants conducted a public hearing on the request. Notice was sent to all utilities so that any company with lines or equipment in the right-of-way could object or ask that an easement be preserved; no replies were returned. No members of the public spoke. With the record clear of objections, Council adopted the ordinance.

Borough streets, sidewalks, and rights-of-way are governed by Chapter 172, Streets & Sidewalks of the Borough Code.

On file: the full text of Ordinance No. 1452 is available from the Borough Office, 1100 Logan Avenue.