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Van Buren supervisors approve vacating portion of Old Highway 2 after public hearing
Summary
The Van Buren County Board of Supervisors voted to vacate a segment of Old Highway 2 at the request of a new landowner, after staff explained notices to adjacent owners and utilities and a neighboring landowner asked that a lower section be left open for access. Utilities’ easements will survive the vacation.
Van Buren County supervisors voted on a voice motion to vacate a portion of Old Highway 2 — described in the resolution as a portion of 200th and Sixtieth Street (Ivory Avenue) extending northeasterly to Iowa Highway 2 — after a public hearing at which county staff and adjacent property representatives spoke.
County staff explained the request came from a new owner, Jesse Hoover, who asked the board to close the right-of-way and make that piece private. The county engineer told the board that letters notifying adjacent landowners and utilities had been sent; staff said it was unclear whether all intended recipients (including Sharon Clark for Legacy Farms LLC) had received notice because some postal tracking records were interrupted. The engineer also noted that any utility easements (ITC and Alliant Energy) would remain on record even if the county vacates the roadway.
At the hearing Rick Lynch, an attorney representing Legacy Farms, said his client was "not asking for damages" but urged the board to leave a lower portion of the road open so neighbors would not lose practical access to several fields. Lynch said the closed section would impose an estimated eighth-of-a-mile detour for some farm operations if the entire segment were gated. County staff responded that, because the road is a Level C route (not regularly maintained), vacating part or all could be appropriate and that the board could consider narrowing the legal description to preserve access where feasible.
Supervisors asked staff to revise the resolution language to clarify the legal description (from the northwest corner description previously used to the north quarter corner of Section 28) and to include clarifying map language before finalizing paperwork. After the clerk called for a voice vote, supervisors recorded the ayes and the motion carried.
The board directed staff to prepare the corrected resolution and follow up with the county attorney for final paperwork. The county will retain statutory boilerplate language in notice documents explaining the limited right to claim damages under state statute (referenced in the hearing). No homesteads would be landlocked by the vacation, staff said, and utilities will keep their easements.
