Who should control Arbor Walkway? Fate of downtown Merced alleyway strikes debate
The unresolved future of a small strip of alley in downtown Merced is a big deal to members of the area’s business community, who rallied at last week’s City Council meeting to debate its fate.
Arbor Walkway acts as a path between parking lots on the south side of 18th Street, between M Street and Canal Street, to Main Street and is considered a commonly used pedestrian thoroughfare.
While the alley is a convenient shortcut, business owners have long complained — and city officials admit — that the Arbor Walkway has become a public nuisance fraught with filthy conditions and frequent crime.
Residents and City Council members alike said they no longer feel safe using the walkway, especially at night.
Merced City Council last week considered changes that some consider a win-win for both local businesses and public safety.
The city would vacate part of the Arbor Walkway public easement and revert back development rights to Dwight Larks, the adjacent property owner of 531 W. Main Street.
Larks said he wants to maintain public access to the walkway while beautifying it with outdoor seating, food and drinks during business hours.
But the area and surrounding businesses would be better safeguarded at night by closing it off with a gate to deter crime, he said.
“That way, they could better secure the area, take full control of it and also even provide some economic value by doing a potential project there,” said Merced Associate Planner Francisco Mendoza-Gonzalez.
City staff said no need for public use of the walkway was found due to there being other — albeit less direct — pedestrian access points nearby.
But giving up control of the highly-trafficked walkway to the discretion of a private individual made other residents wary. And the volume of business owners voicing their concerns was enough to make the city attorney advise City Council to hold off on making a decision yet.
“In order to vacate a public easement the City Council has to make a finding that the public no longer benefits from its use,” City Manager Stephanie Dietz said in an email to the Sun-Star.
“Comments provided by residents were evidence that there is still an interest from the public to benefit from the easement.”
The matter is expected to come back up for public discussion at the Aug. 2 City Council meeting.
Merced business leaders weigh in
Larks’ property consists of a two-story building that houses local businesses like United Way of Merced and the Merced Chamber of Commerce.
Building tenants, plus others with nearby brick and mortars, ardently spoke both for and against the city vacating Arbor Walkway.
United Way of Merced CEO Manuel Alvarado staunchly supported Larks getting control of the walkway back.
He said that in addition to the safety and maintenance improvements Larks has planned, they’re collaborating to develop a publicly available commercial kitchen in the building as part of an imagined nonprofit resources center.
Members of the Merced County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce were also among the proponents of Larks getting back development rights — primarily due to safety concerns.
Hispanic Chamber representatives testified to “very scary” experiences caused by Arbor Walkway’s safety issues, including vandalism, an unhoused man coming inside the building during a meeting, multiple windows being broken and property being stolen.
“We’re a nonprofit organization, we don’t have the money to just pull out and replace these things . . . the gates will benefit us,” Hispanic Chamber Vice President Elisa Trevino said of Larks’ plans.
Larks said the Hispanic Chamber broke its lease with him on account of the issues. He doesn’t want to lose any more tenants, he said.
“No slight to the city, but the city doesn’t really maintain that walkway,” Larks said. “We’re cleaning feces seven days a week,” he added, noting that a fire was recently set in the walkway and that police are called to the area at least two to three times a week.
But opponents of the city vacating control said that issues of public safety, cleanliness and maintenance are a reality of being downtown that is not unique to Arbor Walkway.
“The situation with safety is a concern anywhere,” said Tim Razzari, owner of Razzari Auto Centers in Merced. “Gating it? You can gate it, and at night what happens? You think (people) can’t get over and in?”
Razarri, echoing the concerns of other residents, said that if the city vacates Arbor Walkway it will mean giving up control of a public asset. City staff’s description of Larks’ intention to keep the walkway mostly open used a lot of “waffle words,” he said.
Rental Zebra and Toni’s Courtyard Cafe business owners were also among those voicing dissent.
A majority of City Council members said they understood both sides of the debate, but would hold off on forming opinions until the city attorney further assesses the issue.
Addressing the numerous complaints over the state of Arbor Walkway, Councilmember Delray Shelton noted that the onus of maintenance failures largely rests on the city. “There’s no excuse to not maintain it,” he said.
Dietz recognized that the downtown maintenance district hasn’t had adequate resources recently to meet its needs.
Per City Council direction, staff this month began working towards a strategy that allows for enhanced maintenance, lighting and safe street efforts to be furthered in the downtown core, Dietz told the Sun-Star.
This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 10:40 AM.
