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Hancock supervisors deny some road petitions, approve one abandonment and appoint review committees
Summary
After multiple public hearings on June 16, the Hancock County Board denied an East Ridge abandonment petition and several road‑acceptance petitions but approved a 600‑foot Polychem road abandonment, and appointed committees to review other road‑addition requests.
Hancock County supervisors on June 16 heard extended public comment on petitions to abandon and add multiple county roads, taking both approvals and denials after hearing from residents, county staff and property representatives.
The board denied a petition to abandon about 1,500 feet of East Ridge Road, citing staff concerns that abandonment could landlock nearby property owners. County staff told the board it had maintained the section within the last five years, and the board denied the petition after discussing access questions and the absence of owner testimony.
A separate petition from Polychem to abandon roughly 600 feet near Portland Harbor was approved after the county reviewed a survey and a letter of support from the Port and Harbor Commission. The board found the statutory elements for abandonment were met — including a lack of substantial public traffic and absence of other properties served by the road segment — and voted to remove that portion from the county road registry (motion carried 5–0).
The board also considered petitions to accept sections of Whitfield Drive, Angelwood/Englewood and other roads into county maintenance. Residents and a developer representative disputed whether those roads met county engineering and subdivision standards, raised concerns about long‑term maintenance costs and whether buyers had been told the county would take ownership. After discussion the board denied the Whitfield Drive petition and later denied the Angelwood/Englewood request; supervisors repeatedly cited uncertainty about whether roads were built to required engineered specifications and whether acceptance would impose unsustainable maintenance costs on county taxpayers.
For a separate matter involving Road 541, county engineering staff confirmed the county had been maintaining the segment. The board voted to accept the addition and appointed a two‑member committee plus the county engineer to examine the proposed road extensions and report back at the July 7 meeting.
All contested road motions and committee appointments recorded in the session passed on unanimous votes as noted in the meeting minutes.
