The Walker County Commissioners Court heard a public hearing Sept. 8 on a replat application for Lot 78, Block 1, Section 7 of Wildwood Shores subdivision and then passed the item for later consideration after competing survey evidence and a pending lawsuit. Why it matters: the replatter seeks to merge and replat lots so the applicant can build; an adjacent landowner contends the recorded boundary differs from recent survey markers and has filed a petition in the 12th District Court seeking a declaratory judgment on the true boundary. During the hearing, counsel for the adjacent property owner said they have filed a petition in the 12th District Court to determine the accurate boundary and said the firm that prepared the original subdivision plat (ServTech) has indicated they did not set state‑plane coordinates for the original monuments and that some monuments may have been lost to shoreline/bulkhead work. The adjacent owner’s attorney said the replat approved in 2020 established a line in the owner’s favor and that any change should follow a proper boundary determination. The applicant and his surveyor described multiple site visits and surveys and said the applicant hired a surveyor to reestablish monumentation and to produce a defensible replat; the applicant said he wants to build his home and avoid protracted dispute if possible. County staff and one of the surveyors present said the issue likely requires a civil court determination and that resetting perimeter monuments or resurveying the subdivision could move many corners and would be costly. After taking public comment and hearing from multiple surveyors and property owners, the court voted to pass the replat application so the parties may pursue resolution in civil court and return with a settled boundary. Ending: The court closed the public hearing, passed the replat application without approving it, and instructed staff that resolution of the boundary dispute in civil court or through mutual agreement should precede administrative approval.
