Planning commission tables Staley subdivision as neighbors contest unrecorded right-of-way

Wythe County planners on April 6 voted to table a subdivision application from James Staley and Linda Bridal after neighbors and the commission raised concerns that the proposed access route lacks a recorded right-of-way.

Staff described Staley and Bridal’s request to split about 5.141 acres from a larger parcel on State Route 647 (Mud Lake Road). The county said the parcel would lack the required 100-foot state-maintained road frontage, and applicants proposed establishing a private right-of-way that would connect the new parcel north to Indian Meadows/Indian Ridge.

Bradley (the surveyor) told the commission he had conducted a title search and did not find a recorded right-of-way serving the contested stretch of Indian Meadow Lane. Neighbors Randy and Janet Wright and resident Terrence McAllister each described searching deeds and plats and said they found no recorded easement; McAllister asked for broader notice to all potentially affected landowners and warned that creating a new 50-foot easement could set precedent affecting many properties.

After extended discussion about traversability, steep terrain and the legal status of existing informal gravel tracks, a commissioner moved to table the application pending clearer documentation of a dedicated right-of-way or pursuit of an alternative alignment that relies on existing traversable gravel roads. The commission voted to table the matter and indicated applicants may revise and reapply if they pursue the alternate route or obtain recorded easements.

The tabling preserves neighboring owners’ ability to continue research into deeds and to seek recorded easements before the commission resumes consideration.