Excess Land Overview
The City of Des Moines owns individual parcels of land and right-of-way, which are needed for a many municipal purposes, such as municipal buildings, streets, alleys, airport, parks, urban renewal and storm water management. When a parcel of land is no longer needed for municipal purposes, the City classifies the parcel as "Excess Land" and attempts to sell it. The sale of excess land provides an opportunity for the City to generate revenue from the sales price, as well as increasing the tax base. Future maintenance costs and liability are also eliminated when excess land is sold. Excess land sales are categorized as either "Project Related" or "Non-Project Related" for accounting and maintenance purposes.
Alley and Street Right-of-Way
Complete the Right-of-Way Request Form to initiate a request for vacation and conveyance of alley or street right-of-way.
Requests for the vacation and conveyance of alley and street right-of-way are reviewed by the City staff and the requests are presented to the City's Plan and Zoning Commission and City Council for approval or denial. If the request is approved by the City Council, then the Real Estate Division completes the conveyance process. If an alley or street right-of-way has already gone through this process and is vacated by ordinance, then you only need to submit your request to the Real Estate Division for consideration by sending an email to RealEstate@dmgov.org. Residential zoned rights-of-way are sold at nominal value and Commercial zoned rights-of-way are sold at fair market value.
For further information about the sales process, email your questions to RealEstate@dmgov.org or call (515) 283-4561.