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Magna » A network of wheel-rutted alleys runs through Magna's oldest neighborhoods -- a remnant of the historic pathways once used to collect garbage, deliver coal or reach residential driveways.
But those corridors now cause this west-side township consternation as neighbors bicker over backyard boundaries, as teens seek out seclusion for a smoke and as weeds proliferate without anyone to responsible for routine maintenance.
Salt Lake County wants to make it easier for property owners to claim those historic alleys -- not to mention similar pathways that cut through unincorporated communities such as Kearns, White City and Millcreek.
"The alleys really serve no public purpose," Salt Lake County Public Works Director Linda Hamilton said. "The more that we can get [into private hands], the better -- both for the residents and for the county. We just don't have the resources to maintain them."
Closing those gaps between properties is no simple task -- not when some people still use the alleys to reach their backyards, not when others have built fences or sheds that encroach on a neighbor's side of the alley.
Hamilton said the county will push toward a lower-cost, lower-hassle process for eliminating those strips -- a process known as "vacation" that typically splits the land between property owners on either side of the alley. The county now charges $300 to realign the boundaries,
"On the surface," Hamilton said, "it seems to be more cumbersome and more expensive than we would like it to be."
Norm Fitzgerald doesn't have to look any farther than his backyard fence to see one of those ribbons of poorly maintained public property separating him from his neighbor. As a member of Magna's two most influential boards -- the Town Council and Community Council -- he has heard complaints aplenty about the alleys.
Why isn't somebody cutting the weeds? What can I do about a neighbor whose fence blocks me from reaching my backyard? Why isn't someone cracking down on the teens who hang out in the alley to smoke?
Fitzgerald's response? "Every time it comes up," he said, "I suggest it is a county problem. They need to come up with a universal solution."
Megan Hillyard, a community-relations specialist for Mayor Peter Corroon, hopes the county is headed toward that fix. With 22 aerial photographs of historic Magna rolled out on her desk, she traces lines of alleys that never were recorded on county maps.
There is no way, she said, the county can take care of them all.
So Hillyard plans to roll out for community councils a guide that will help them coach constituents on how to extend their boundaries into the alley. She also is encouraging neighborhoods to submit their plans together, allowing them to split the $300 processing fee.
"It is definitely something we need to look at," said County Councilman Michael Jensen, who lives in Magna. While the county must respect private property rights -- such as a resident's access to a backyard garage -- the councilman said he would be willing to explore "anything that is going to help the county become more functional and reduce the crime and fire risk."
Until then, these rugged reminders of Salt Lake County's past will remain -- unclaimed.
