Right-of-Way Vacation Paves the Way for Neighborhood Drainage Improvements
- Steve Jurrens
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - A segment of unimproved public land will soon be transformed into a private detention pond after the Watertown Planning Commission voted 7-0 to vacate a portion of the city’s right-of-way.
The commission approved Resolution No. 2026-19, which vacates an approximately 14,430-square-foot, 30-foot-wide section of public road right-of-way. The land sits between an abandoned railroad right-of-way and Lot 5, Block 3 of the Watertown Development Company Addition.
Petitioners Jeffrey and Sandra Stadheim, who own the properties directly abutting the right-of-way, requested the vacation to construct a private detention pond. City staff noted that the new pond will help alleviate existing drainage issues in the surrounding area. The right-of-way is currently unimproved and lacks any city utilities.
During the public hearing, Jeff Stadheim expressed concerns regarding the runoff from neighboring properties into the planned pond.
“That retention pond that is getting made, there’s five or six businesses where water’s running into that,” Stadheim said. “I just wonder if there’s anything that has to be done, should some of these people step up to the line?”
City Manager Alan Stager clarified the city’s position on private stormwater management.
“As the petitioner and the developer with the drainage pond on your property, we will be asking for a best management practice around the pond, which we do on all private ponds,” Stager explained. “I would suggest that if you do have concerns about other people draining into that pond before taking on all of that responsibility on your own, I certainly recommend that you meet with them and develop plans accordingly.”
The vacation does not create any landlocked parcels and does not hinder the city’s master transportation plan, as the roadway to the west had already been vacated in 2019.
