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Council opens, then tables, public hearing on petition to vacate platted roadway near Bassett Lake
Summary
Starke County Council opened a public hearing on a petition from three adjacent landowners to vacate an unimproved platted roadway; after testimony and questions about wetlands, past vacatings and statutory authority, the council closed the hearing and voted to table action to the next meeting to allow further review.
Starke County Council opened a public hearing on a petition by contiguous property owners to vacate an unimproved platted roadway near Bassett Lake and then voted to table the matter to the next meeting.
The hearing, introduced by Speaker 2, covered a petition submitted by property owners identified in the packet as Todd Bridal, Mark C. White and William Sheldon Bridal. The petition seeks to vacate a narrow, unimproved roadway that petitioners say was platted but never built. An attorney for the petitioners explained the statutory test for vacation, saying the request meets the criteria so long as it does not cut off access to public facilities or impede traffic, and described how ownership would be split among adjoining owners if vacated.
A nearby landowner (Speaker 11) told the council the vacating could reach the wetlands on her property and asked what had happened to a previous vacating in the area; she said her family’s advertised acreage diminished after a survey and that the change had practical consequences for future building and sewer access. Several council members said they had not previously handled vacatings and expressed concern the council had not received adequate notice or packet materials in advance.
"As far as I'm concerned, we're not gonna take any action on this," Speaker 2 told the room after public testimony, and other members urged more time to review the plat, covenants and history of prior vacatings. One council member recommended tabling the item and bringing a fuller packet and GIS materials to the next meeting so commissioners and council can coordinate.
The council closed the public hearing by voice vote and then made and carried a motion to table the petition to the next regular meeting so members can examine subdivision records, seek input from potentially affected owners and, if necessary, send a formal recommendation to the county commissioners.
Next steps: The council clerk was asked to distribute all petition documents and the survey to members before the next meeting; the council left the item on the agenda for a fuller review.
