Council approves vacation of former Campus Drive right-of-way near county campus

The Fond Du Lac City Council on Jan. 8, 2025, approved Resolution No. 9160 to formally vacate a portion of Campus Drive’s right-of-way on the east side of the former UW Fond du Lac campus. City staff said the roadway was removed around 2002 and the county, which owns the land, requested the formal abandonment.

City Engineer Johnson told the council the city has no utilities in the right-of-way and there is no need to restore a vehicular road through that segment. "There hasn't that road was removed approximately 2002, and, basically, in its place is the trail that runs through the Godfrey Prairie," Johnson said, explaining the right-of-way had not been formally closed even though the physical roadway was removed more than two decades earlier.

Councilmembers clarified that the parcel in question is county land and that further decisions about access or new roads on the county property would be county matters, not decisions for the city. Councilmember Mullen said the county had expressed a desire to restrict the route so it would not be used by high-school students to reach Johnson Street.

Johnson and staff emphasized the action would not change current access around the campus or affect the newer road built behind a nearby contractor (CD Smith). The resolution passed unanimously in open session; the transcript does not show a roll-call tally but records the motion and unanimous passage.

This vacation formalizes an historical omission in city records, transferring the city’s unused right-of-way status in that section and aligning the record with the county’s request. The council did not take any additional actions regarding signage, enforcement or county land use at the meeting.