Jim Thorpe Borough Council rejected a petition to vacate an unopened stretch of Fourth Street over a stormwater drain that runs beneath the ground.

Council voted unanimously Thursday to deny the request, which sought to give up the borough’s claim to the unopened portion between South and Maple streets. Two neighboring property owners had asked for the vacation so they could eventually take title to the land.

Council Vice President Mike Yeastedt made the motion to deny, citing the pipe.

A storm pipe runs from a basin on South Street through the unopened right of way and feeds into at least three catch basins, according to borough officials. Yeastedt said the streets department could not risk losing access to it.

“Speaking for the streets department, we definitely have a concern with our stormwater drain,” he said at council’s Oct. 1 workshop. “There’s at least three outlets in that intersection, and that pipe does drain down through that.”

Attorney Kelly Jamison, who filed the petition, told council at that workshop the drainage issue could be handled with an easement rather than an outright denial.

“We can make it that there’s no building over that area, no permanent structures that would be built over that stormwater drain, so that the borough can still have access to it and maintain it,” Jamison said.

Jamison said the properties at 332 and 402 South St. have used the unopened portion of Fourth Street as driveways and off-street parking for years. Property records show 332 South St. is owned by Jennifer Tate.

The stretch at 332 South St. functions as a gravel driveway where the owner parks daily, Jamison said, and the apartment building at 402 South St. relies on Fourth Street to reach a basement unit at the rear.

What pushed the request forward was a fire at 402 South St. nearly two years ago.

“Her residence burned down, so she’s in the process of rebuilding,” Jamison said of owner Theresa Corripio. “The property line is actually really tight to where the residence was. So she’s wanting to rebuild — not necessarily extend so much onto Fourth Street, but just being able to gain that property to have an off-street driveway for her property is really their goal here.”

Borough Manager Maureen Sterner told council the same request came before it three years ago and was turned down over the same concerns. She said county GIS records also show a paper road — Maple Street — that could connect to Fourth Street at some point in the future.

“Due to those issues in 2023, the council at that time denied the request for vacating the unopened portion of Fourth Street,” Sterner said.

Jamison disputed that Fourth Street could ever be extended to Maple. The terrain, she said, makes it impossible without major earthwork.

“Fourth Street actually has a sort of a drop-off or a cliff where it doesn’t actually connect to where Maple Alley would theoretically be,” Jamison said. “To get to Maple Street, you would have to go over at least two properties.”

She also raised the length of time the right of way has sat unopened.

“If the road hasn’t been open for public use and hasn’t been constructed after 21 years, I think there may be just some considerations there as well as to whether or not you can open it at some point in the future,” Jamison said.

Yeastedt questioned Jamison’s assumption about where the pipe runs.

“I’m not so sure it runs down the center,” he said. “Typically it’ll leave one of these inlets, so it’s probably more in line with the inlets that are there.”

He also noted the owners are using a public right of way as private access.

“They can’t access it without going down Fourth Street,” Yeastedt said. “So essentially, they’re using it as a street.”