Commission agrees to staff title search and survey after dispute over fence on Lawrence Raul Road

Following lengthy testimony from Walter Ryle and multiple community members, the Taylor County Commission on April 8 directed county staff to obtain a title search and a professional survey to clarify competing claims over the Lawrence(a.k.a. Lawrence Raul) Road right-of-way and to consider next steps for a fence erected across a portion of the roadway.

Ryle told the commission he and his family developed the subdivision that includes Lawrence Raul Road and presented deeds, a private survey, and historical context, asserting the road as a county right-of-way and saying a fence placed across the road prevents access to his property. Church representatives and other neighbors said a recent professional survey they commissioned showed no public road through the wooded property and described installing a fence along surveyed monuments after concerns about land clearing and trespass.

County staff advised the board that records indicate Lawrence Raul Road is listed as a county-maintained road with an 18-foot maintenance width, while a field check measured closer to 24–25 feet for the maintained strip. Staff also noted the need to determine whether the county constructed and continuously maintained the roadway, which would raise prescriptive-easement issues under Florida law, and whether any conveyance to the county exists. Attorneys on both sides referenced Florida Statute section 95.361 (prescriptive easements) and statutory procedures for abandoning or closing roads.

After discussion the board directed staff to obtain a formal title search and a professional survey and to report back with findings; staff estimated those costs could be modest (one staff comment estimated under $2,000), and the board asked that funds be identified to pay for the work. Commissioners emphasized the need to resolve the dispute formally and warned that, if the county had maintained the road for a statutory period, removal of fences or other on-site actions might be required by ordinance and statute. The board did not order immediate removal of the fence; instead it requested documentary verification and a staff report to guide action.

Several residents urged a negotiated resolution; others said litigation or a formal road abandonment petition could be necessary depending on title and maintenance records. The county will use the title search and survey to assess maintenance history, width actually maintained, evidence of construction by the county and whether the fence lies within that area before deciding on enforcement or abandonment procedures.