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Sugar Land council approves first reading to abandon portion of Sartarsha Road right of way
Summary
The City of Sugar Land held a first reading and voted 6-0 to approve Ordinance No. 2365, which abandons 0.5231 acres of the Sartarsha Road right of way and returns divided fee ownership to adjacent property owners; Fort Bend County will maintain a newly constructed road segment.
The Sugar Land City Council on July 1 approved the first reading of Ordinance No. 2365 to abandon a portion of the Sartarsha Road right of way, a move council members said is driven by a Fort Bend County detention project and will remove 0.5231 acres from city maintenance.
The ordinance, introduced by Assistant City Engineer Jonathan Braun, would abandon the identified segment of right of way while retaining a portion to provide access to a single existing residential lot. Braun said the county’s Lehi District No. 7 detention project required changes to the roadway layout and that the newly constructed connecting road will fall under Fort Bend County maintenance.
“The ordinance abandons the road right of way, retains a portion of the right of way to provide access to the existing residential lot, and it will return the divided fee ownership to the abutting property owners,” Jonathan Braun, Assistant City Engineer, told council members. He said the city is removing 0.5231 acres from the city’s right of way as part of the action.
Why it matters: the change relieves the city of a future maintenance burden for the abandoned segment and formalizes maintenance responsibility with Fort Bend County for the reconstructed roadway. Braun said the right of way was initially dedicated to Fort Bend County in 1997 and annexed into the city in 2017; the abandonment is a formal step now that the physical roadway configuration has changed.
Councilmember Miller moved approval of the first reading of Ordinance No. 2365 and Councilmember Single seconded. The council voted 6-0 to approve the first reading; one member was absent. City staff said second reading will be scheduled at a future council meeting.
Background and next steps: The legal step taken on first reading is required before the council considers final adoption at second reading. The city will retain whatever limited right-of-way is required to preserve access to the single residence identified in staff materials, and divided fee interest in the abandoned parcel will be returned to the abutting property owners and Fort Bend County Lehi District No. 7, per staff statements.
