In a 3-2 vote, the Garden City Commission on Tuesday denied a proposed Special Improvement District that would have allowed for the paving of a stretch of North Ninth Street after property owners of lots alongside the road spoke out in favor and against the project.
The improvement district would have paved Ninth Street from West Emerson Street south to West Thompson Street, which has been a dirt road for decades. Eric Solze, a property owner on the street, proposed the $177,935.75 road pavement project with a petition that called for the city to pay 80 of the costs and residents of the block the remaining 20 percent.
The majority of the properties on the block, comprised of 16 lots straddling Ninth Street, are owned by two families who have owned land on the block for decades: Vernon, Eric and Wilma Solze, who together own 11 lots, and Shelli, Donelda and Jerry Lalicker, who together own four lots. Michael and Stephanie Pittillo. Only Eric, Vernon and Wilma Solze’s signatures appear on the petition.
The petition was the Solze family’s fourth attempt to create an improvement district for the street, which could significantly raise the property value of lots they intend to sell. If the commission had approved the district, all lot owners would have been liable for a portion of the costs.
(Read more: News – The Garden City Telegram)