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Plan commission recommends vacating eastern end of North Kitson Lane near Syracuse
Summary
The Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend that county commissioners vacate about 83 feet of the eastern end of North Kitson Lane in the Kitson Park subdivision; utility easements will remain in place and the recommendation goes to commissioners July 29.
The Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission on July (meeting) voted unanimously to recommend that the Kosciusko County commissioners vacate roughly 83 feet of the eastern end of North Kitson Lane in the Kitson Park subdivision, a dead‑end right of way that ends at the lakeshore near Syracuse.
The recommendation matters because vacating the platted right of way would remove the public travel easement along a 16‑foot strip that has never been opened beyond a driveway and would allow adjacent property owners to finish landscaping and maintain the land as private yard space while statutory utility easements remain in place.
Plan director Matt Sandy introduced the case — vacation 2025‑4 for James Silcox — and showed aerial and video of the pavement terminating near a utility pole and seawall. Attorney Steve Snyder, representing the owners on both sides of the plat, told the commission the traveled surface stops at the driveway and that most of the adjacent ground is soggy and not suitable for travel. “We just want to eliminate the public’s right to travel over that portion so that we can finish landscaping it, and continue to maintain it as a yard,” Snyder said.
Snyder said the change would improve setback compliance for an existing house on the south side and a proposed side‑entry garage planned on the north lot. He also reported that Syracuse fire chief Mickey Scott reviewed the location and did not anticipate an impact on emergency services.
A member of the commission moved to vacate the right of way up to the edge of the paved surface or the utility pole; the commission discussed the statutory effect on utilities and confirmed that state law preserves utility easements in vacated public ways. The motion was approved unanimously. The plan commission will forward a favorable recommendation to the county commissioners, who are scheduled to consider the vacation at 9 a.m. on July 29 in this same room.
No formal acquisition or development will occur as part of the commission’s recommendation; the action is a recommendation only and any resulting change of ownership or use would be controlled by the county commissioners and by existing easements and zoning limits.
