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Town counsel recommends ‘friendly’ condemnation to clear riverbank title; staff to obtain legal description
Summary
Legal counsel told the council that county tax records list a downtown riverbank parcel to INM but historical deeds are ambiguous; staff were directed to obtain a legal description and consult affected property owners ahead of a possible friendly condemnation/quiet-title action.
Town attorney Alex Bowman briefed the Bristol Town Council on Aug. 19 about a clouded title issue affecting a downtown tax parcel along the St. Joseph riverbank that county records list to INM. Bowman said the town commissioned a title search and found historical deed discrepancies dating to the early 1900s; the result is a tax parcel that appears in county records as owned by INM but whose chain of title is ambiguous in older plat and deed records.
Bowman recommended a "friendly" condemnation (a condemnation/quiet-title approach pursued cooperatively rather than in contested litigation) as the most straightforward mechanism to clear title so the town can move forward with planned downtown projects and clarify land rights along the riverbank. "From our conversations with INM, they're not interested in the property; they don't believe they own it," Bowman said. He added that a condemnation/quiet-title process would allow the town to acquire clear title to the tax parcel while offering affected landowners (for example, Redbird, the opera house and Lambrites) the opportunity to obtain clearly described parcels where appropriate.
Council and staff discussed logistics and next steps: obtaining an up-to-date legal description of the entire tax parcel from Division to Apollo, notifying and consulting affected adjacent property owners, and budgeting for any nominal compensation required under applicable eminent-domain processes. Bowman cautioned there is some uncertainty about compensation demands should affected owners assert stronger claims; he recommended beginning with legal‑description work and outreach so the town can avoid surprise disputes.
Council directed staff to obtain the necessary legal descriptions and to approach affected owners with the intent to negotiate parcel descriptions (for example, permitting owners to pay for and receive a defined survey line to clear their titles after the town clears the broader tax parcel). Staff said they would start work and return to council before initiating any formal condemnation filing.
Sources: Title-search summary and briefing by legal counsel Alex Bowman at the Aug. 19 Bristol Town Council work session.
