Residents urge delay on repealing 1955 road-vacation ordinance; board tables action pending counsel

The Lindletown board heard public comment Oct. 1 on a request to vacate a town right-of-way and on a proposal to repeal a 1955 land-vacation ordinance; residents urged the board to delay any repeal until independent legal review.

Supporters of preserving the 1955 action said the ordinance vacated the right-of-way decades ago and that ownership reverted to adjoining property owners. Gary, a resident who submitted a written statement for the record, asked that his comments be entered into the minutes and said the 1955 ordinance "had legal force at the time, and the clear intent was that the vacation was final." He added, "Property rights have vested and cannot simply be undone."

Why it matters: residents said reversing a decades-old vacation would amount to a taking and could expose the town to litigation.…