Commission tables decision on petition to vacate portions of Riverside Road amid survey and maintenance concerns

Christian County commissioners on March 26 took public testimony and then voted to table a petition to vacate portions of Riverside Road after questions about legal descriptions, trail access and future maintenance access remained unresolved.

Amanda Calloway, Ozark’s city attorney, told the commission the city opposes vacating the former roadway in its entirety, arguing on the record that the statutory standard requires both a finding of uselessness and an unreasonable maintenance burden and that public uses—including access to Riverside Inn Park and an existing multimodal trail—remain. "The statute requires that the commission find that the right of way is both useless and unreasonably burdensome to maintain," Calloway said.

The Ozarks Special Road District sent a letter and spoke at the hearing to say it was taking no formal position until survey work and corrective deeds clarify what public ownership and responsibilities exist; the district noted prior expenditures on bridge repairs and warned that uncertainty about right-of-way boundaries could affect future maintenance.

Petitioner Michael Bloom argued the portion of the old road on his side had been unused for more than six years and relied on Missouri case law to urge vacation. Bloom said he would not block maintenance access but insisted that retaining a road easement for a different purpose is legally improper: "You cannot use a road easement for a maintenance easement," he said on the record and offered to negotiate a maintenance easement if the vacation is granted and recorded.

Commissioners discussed whether to split the petition into two parts (the portion adjacent to the park/trail and the portion in front of the Bloom property), the practical need for an agreed maintenance access before vacating land needed for bridge repairs, and the presence of an unclarified deed for a south‑end private parcel. Multiple commissioners said they were inclined to delay action until corrected legal descriptions and survey evidence are complete.

One commissioner moved to table the petition until Ozarks Special Road District’s survey work and corrected deeds are complete and for staff, city counsel and the road district to coordinate with the petitioner; the motion passed. The commission will reconvene on the item after the documentation is complete.