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Commissioners deadlock on request to abandon platted section of Center Street; no action
Summary
A request to close and abandon a platted but unopened 50' x 400' section of Center Street resulted in a 2-2 tie vote; Assistant County Attorney Jennifer Herzog said the tie meant no action was taken.
A request to close and abandon a platted but unopened 50-foot-by-400-foot section of Center Street prompted discussion and a tie vote at the Ware County Board of Commissioners' Oct. 13 meeting.
Assistant County Attorney Jennifer Herzog read the statutory standard in O.C.G.A. 32-7-2(b)(1) governing abandonment of county roads and explained the required published notice, plat recording and public-hearing steps. Herzog told commissioners that although the section appears on a plat, "there is no proof of maintenance, there is no deed, it does not appear that a road was ever built, and it is not included on the list of County roads," raising uncertainty about whether the county ever accepted the road into the county system.
Commissioner Jon Tindall moved to approve the request to close and abandon the 50' x 400' platted but unopened section of Center Street; Chairman Elmer Thrift seconded. The roll call produced two aye votes (Tindall and Thrift) and two no votes (Commissioners Leonard Burse and Barry Cox), with Commissioner Timmy Lucas absent. Assistant County Attorney Herzog advised the board that the tie vote meant "no action taken." The matter remains undecided and could be reintroduced when additional evidence or parties appear.
No public hearing or final judicial determination was recorded at the meeting; Herzog noted that formal abandonment under O.C.G.A. 32-7-2(b)(1) requires notice to property owners, publication and potentially a court determination before the county can divest the public's interest in a platted road.
