Porter County panel approves vacation of unused utility easement for Noel property

The Porter County Plan Commission voted to vacate an existing ingress/egress and utility easement on a 3.3-acre rural residential parcel in case BOE-2026-1 after the petitioner and staff said the easement has not been used for utilities.

Rodney Noel, who identified himself and provided the address for the property, told the commission the utilities have been located on the north side of his parcel since the family bought it 54 years ago and that a recorded driveway maintenance agreement divides responsibility among four family-owned homes. “There are absolutely no utilities whatsoever have ever been on that easement, nor will there ever be,” he said during the public hearing.

County staff explained that a 2004 minor subdivision had reserved 60-foot rights-of-way to provide access and the expectation of utility placement, but staff and utility locates presented to the commission showed no infrastructure within the southern easement. A neighbor who lives immediately west of Noel’s property also spoke in favor of vacating the easement, saying the separate driveway easement now in place reduced encroachment on the county road.

After questions and brief discussion among commissioners about driveway arrangements and recorded agreements, a motion to approve the vacation was made and seconded. A roll-call vote recorded the present commissioners voting in favor; the motion carried.

The decision by the Plan Commission is a recommendation; staff noted the usual public-notice and county-commission review steps that follow the commission’s action.