Property owner asks town to abandon historic Bunch Road; town to evaluate process and costs

John Harris, an attorney representing property owner Phil Lewis, asked the Board of Commissioners to initiate the statutory process to abandon (withdraw) a portion of Bunch Road that remains on the town’s perceived street map. Harris told the board his client recently bought several parcels that previously had been taken by the state during the bypass condemnation and that the recorded deeds did not clearly resolve the road strip. "So what we're just asking... is pursuant to the statute on abandonment, the town proceed with getting this off of their perceived street map," Harris said.

Harris told the board that a Powell billing map showed the south side of the road was removed from maintenance records in July 2019 and that the town does not appear to be maintaining the south portion of the corridor. Staff noted the statute allows preservation of utility easements and cautioned that the town would incur posting, publication and legal costs to process an abandonment; Harris said his client would likely be willing to reimburse those costs if the board made that a condition.

Staff confirmed there is at least a 6-inch water line and a fire hydrant in the corridor; public works had installed a shutoff valve and planned follow-up repairs. After questions about ownership, potential compensation and utility easements, Commissioner Matthews moved that staff evaluate abandonment with a condition that the board receive an estimate of costs associated with the process. The board voted to direct staff to proceed with evaluation and return with a proposal — potentially to the July work session — including estimated costs and any necessary easement reservations.

Why it matters: Abandoning a perceived public road changes ownership and maintenance responsibility, can resolve title issues for property owners, and must preserve any public utilities; the town will evaluate legal, utility and notification steps before taking formal action.