Oldham County Fiscal Court votes 8-1 to close 60-foot right-of-way at end of Old Coach Road

Oldham County Fiscal Court voted 8-1 on Oct. 7 to close a 60-foot portion of county right-of-way at the end of Old Coach Road after a public hearing that drew two property owners and questions from magistrates about access and prior committee review.

County Engineer Jim Silliman presented maps showing a 60-foot right-of-way that had been platted at the end of a Glen Meadows subdivision but never connected through to the adjoining Lehi Arm Acres subdivision. Silliman said the county withheld approval of a driveway encroachment permit for a nearby Lot 6 while staff investigated whether the right-of-way remained necessary for future public connectivity.

The matter had been reviewed by the county Road Committee and by a three-person viewers committee required under KRS 178.070, Silliman said; he identified Magistrate Michael Logsdon and Planning Commission Vice Chair Katie Nasser as the two noninterested viewers who reviewed the site with the county engineer. Silliman told the court the viewers concluded that closing the right-of-way would not create a public inconvenience because the only impacted parcel, Lot 6, had existing access from Old Zahring Road.

Two nearby property owners spoke at the public hearing. Mitch McCoy, the owner of Lot 6, said he purchased the property about a year and a half ago and believed the right-of-way provided access; he told the court he had “no idea that there was gonna be so much opposition to using it.” McCoy said parts of the parcel behind his house are wooded and that septic leach-field locations may limit where a driveway could be built.

John O’Neil, owner of Lot 1 (4220 Glenarm Road), said he favored closing the right-of-way. O’Neil said he and his family have lived in the area for 25 years and that the cul-de-sac “was not the purpose of that right-of-way” after the adjacent subdivision was developed; he told the court he preferred to leave the area as it currently is.

Magistrates asked whether closing the 60-foot corridor would permanently block Lot 6 from accessing the rear of the property. Silliman and other court members said Lot 6 retains legal access from Old Zahring Road and that any driveway from county right-of-way would require a separate road-encroachment permit and review by the county engineer.

Magistrate Jeffries made the motion to close the portion of right-of-way as presented, citing KRS 178.070 as the statutory process for discontinuance. After discussion and a brief additional public comment period the court voted, and Judge Executive David Vogel announced, “Motion carries. 8 to 1.”

What the closure means in practice: county staff said the closed right-of-way will revert to adjoining property owners as provided by law, and that any future person seeking to use former right-of-way for a driveway must apply for a road encroachment permit and receive county approval. No further appeals or legal steps were announced at the meeting.

The court’s action follows prior committee review and the viewers’ written report required by state statute; the county engineer told the court the closure corrects an historical mapping/planning mismatch where the original subdivision design anticipated a future connection that was never built.