Rockville council continues three road-vacation hearings after property-access objections and unresolved surveys

The Rockville Town Council on March 12 continued multiple public hearings on requested road vacations after residents and neighboring landowners told the council the proposals could materially affect access, frontage and future development.

Council members heard public comment on two linked requests concerning 75 South — a proposed vacation of a portion between properties owned by Skyler Davis and Jacob (Jake) Anderson, and a second portion that would split Tristan DeMille's property. Multiple residents, including Anderson and DeMille, raised concerns about loss of future access and the cost of bringing an unused, unbuilt road up to standard.

Jake Anderson, an adjoining property owner who filed a written objection, told the council the parcels have historically been plotted for public access and argued that vacating the road could "severely limit my property's accessibility" and might constitute a material injury under state code. In his written comment he cited Utah Code 10-9a-609, which restricts abandonment of a public right-of-way that would materially injure an adjacent owner.

Tristan DeMille, whose land would be split by one of the proposed vacations, said the lanes have been closed for more than a century and that opening the road would require "significant cost" to build grade, fences, drainage and to relocate irrigation. DeMille also noted buried sewer manholes in the corridor that would need to be located and raised if the road were improved.

Skyler Davis, who owns the adjacent Hershey property, said recent survey work and county records have created uncertainty about what rights and platted roads actually exist and said he bought and built under the assumption that the road was closed. Several residents urged the council to allow time for updated surveys, legal review and any private agreements among landowners that might resolve access questions.

The council's discussion emphasized the legal standard that a municipality may not vacate a public right-of-way if doing so would materially injure an adjacent property owner and noted the need to determine whether the town would gain any public benefit from the vacations. Council members said they had received a written objection and other public comments and that surveys and title research were incomplete.

Mayor or presiding council member moved to continue both 75 South vacations (agenda items 3 and 4) to the council's April 9 regular meeting. The motion passed by roll call. The council also continued the Jennings Lane vacation request (item 5), which affects property owned by Jeff and Shirley Ballard and by Max Gregorick, to the April 9 meeting to allow additional survey work and legal counsel review. For the Jennings Lane matter the planning commission previously requested surveys because of a long-standing barn on or near the vacated area and uncertainty whether abandonment would leave the Gregorick parcel with required frontage on a public road.

Several public commenters suggested private easement arrangements among property owners could resolve some access concerns. Tristan DeMille and others warned that an easement that lacks municipal control could become a poorly constructed track, leaving neighbors to shoulder maintenance burdens. "If it's not controlled somehow...an easement could turn into just a muddy road through my field," DeMille said.

The council asked staff to forward the public comments and surveys to town legal counsel and to notify interested property owners when the legal opinion becomes available. The council will revisit the matters on April 9; no final abandonments or vacating actions were approved on March 12.