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Council approves petition to vacate Calvert Place public way; ordinance to follow pending survey
Summary
After a public hearing on July 21 the Common Council approved an 8‑0 motion to approve a petition to vacate Calvert Place, a right‑of‑way that was never improved; the council will consider an ordinance to record property descriptions once survey work is complete.
CARMEL, Ind. — The Carmel Common Council voted 8‑0 on July 21 to approve a petition to vacate a public way called Calvert Place, a paper right‑of‑way created with the Deerfield subdivision that was never improved.
Attorney Donald Russell, representing the petitioners and related property owners, said the driveway to one residence (referred to in the transcript as the Cornes residence) encroaches substantially into the right‑of‑way and that property owners have maintained the area for more than 20 years. Russell said adjacent lot owners in Summer Lakes have no objection to the vacation.
Corporation Counsel staff told the council they lacked a final survey exhibit because a surveyor had not yet completed a legal description; the council approved the petition and the attorney said the petitioners expect to provide survey descriptions within a week or two. An ordinance to effect the vacation and record legal descriptions will return to council once the survey work is complete.
Why it matters: vacating a public way transfers the unimproved right‑of‑way to adjacent property owners and clears uncertainty about future access or sale of the affected parcels. In this case property owners said the vacation resolves an encroachment issue and formalizes long‑standing private use of the area.
Next steps: staff will receive the survey and proposed legal descriptions from the petitioner’s surveyor and place the ordinance on a future council agenda for formal recording.
