A public hearing on vacating part of First Street to a private property owner, originally scheduled for Feb. 19, will be pushed back more than a month.

State rules on when a public hearing can be held for vacation of public property kept the city from holding the hearing last week. It will be officially announced for April 7 at the city council’s regular meeting March 3.

The resolution before the city council is to abandon some of First Street near the Dog House Tavern. The portion of First Street that would be vacated is essentially an access road that goes between the tavern and Hladky Park down to Seawall Park.

The iconic building has structural issues with a sag or jog in its floors. Adding to the back of the building will help correct the sag over time. The deck is built on city property, and Langley Director of Community Planning Jeff Arango said owners Charlie and Janice Kleiner had concerns they may jeopardize its historic status if the deck had to be removed.

Should the street vacation go through, Arango said, most visitors to the tavern’s store front, a popular sight for photos, and to the adjoining Hladky and Seawall parks would not realize a change of property ownership occurred.

“Basically, it’s no different,” he said. “Substantively, people wouldn’t notice much of a difference.”