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Commission discusses patent on cemetery parcel; attorneys conclude patent no longer bars proposed use
Summary
Commissioners asked whether a historic patent describing the site as a cemetery limits the city's planned water‑tank use; Planning Director Andrew Jackson said county and city attorneys reviewed the patent and concluded the 25‑year limitation had expired, so no additional Interior Department approval was required.
At a planning commission special meeting, a commissioner raised whether an old patent describing the parcel as a cemetery would require Interior Department approval before the city could change the site's use. Planning Director Andrew Jackson said the county attorney and the city's attorney reviewed the patent language and concluded the 25‑year restriction described in the document no longer applies because the 25‑year period has passed.
Jackson summarized the legal review on the record: "There was a patent that had it, for 25 years as a cemetery, and then it said if it was to go to a different use before that 25 year period was up, then they had to get something from the, bureau, the director of the bureau of interior or something like that. Right? But since it was past that 25 year period, they didn't need that approval, and they could go ahead and pursue this." Commissioners accepted that explanation as part of their consideration of the narrow ordinance amendment. The commission did not take separate legal action; the staff noted the county commission would receive the planning commission's recommendation the next day.
