Activity Feed › Discussion Forums › Strictly Surveying › Dedication and acceptance
Out of morbid curiosity, how did the current owner take title to whatever it is they own now- lots & blocks, or “all of those lands shown on the plat recorded in Book ____, at Page ___’, or by some other descriptive language?
IMO, this is a very interesting topic- please do provide updates when you can.
Thanks
@chuck-beresford I like your thinking. If he bought a subdivision, that is what it still is. If he bought a single parcel, perhaps the “plat recorded in error” concept is valid. If he bought lots and blocks, I would think he could force the municipality to be responsible for the streets dedicated when those lots and blocks were created.
A development company started the project. The recession hit and the bank foreclosed. Then the bank sold the property to an attorney. Said attorney filed the half baked notice about the plat being recorded in error. Recently that attorney sold the property to our client. The deed was “all that tract or parcel of land” and referred to a plat of the property prior to subdivision “less and except road rights of way” etc. Anybody want some popcorn?
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to loseDid you ever try to sue a lawyer who will fight to the death to prove his point? It is painful to watch. And extremely expensive to do because he has no legal fees.
… and has a fool for a client, they usually end up losing the long game.
Pride is one of the Se7en….
… and has a fool for a client, they usually end up losing the long game.
Pride is one of the Se7en….
Say it again, oh oh oh
I never realized how much difference exists in the status of roads from state to state until my latest position reviewing surveys in all the southeastern states. In some states, a dedicated road is treated more like an easement, which reverts to the owner if abandoned. In Georgia, a dedicated/acquired road right of way is usually considered a fee transaction. As Stacy has stated, the process for road abandonment is very specific. The municipality really needs to be on board to make it happen. On the county level, the “Good Old Boy System” is alive and well. In similar situations, I have seen the County state that the road right-of way was dedicated but no building permits will be given until the roadway meets the current specifications. At this point, the issue will need to be resolved legally or politically or the developer will just be unable to go forward, while being on the hook indefinitely for a large tax bill. In the last case, I hope the developer is an LLC. A State law clearly defining the dedication process much like the law that defined the annexation process would definitely reduce the confusion.
@stacy-carroll Yeah, it should be interesting to hear how this one plays out. I’d love to find out how a legally executed plat which apparently was initially accepted by and signed by the municipality could be deemed eligible to be vacated by extinguishing it was a valid (and legal) course of action at that time. I’m not an Attorney (and don’t play one on TV), but I would assume this will raise a lot of eyebrows in the future when someone does a Chain Of Title search on any of these lands (would definitely raise a red flag as a potential “cloud on title” for the Examiners I know). As others have said here (and it is the same process in my neck of the woods), the municipal acceptance is a 2 step process- first the plat with all of the applicable signatures and notarizing, and then the second step of having the municipality formally accepting those roads, easements., etc. via a City Council meeting or something similar. Not sure once that process has begun and owners (and more importantly Lenders) have agreed to, and signed a plat for subdivision and the subsequent projected simultaneous conveyance of the lands therein, that the process can be reversed (i.e. no do-overs)… this is a new one on me, so very interested to see how this one plays out- thanks Stacy.
Re-reading your original post I see all of the utilities were installed. Are there not any easements for these utilities? I find it hard to believe a utility company put in their facilities without benefit of an easement. If they had a valid easement, I find it hard to believe the attorney could invalidate those easements after the fact just by recording his “plat made in error” notice.
I only found easement deeds for power. There were really crude drawings of the subdivision roads and the description was a blanket description..
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to loseMaintenance and acceptance don’t necessarily go hand and hand. In some places the entity that does the accepting of subdivision ROWs doesn’t even have maintenance powers.
The states that have automatic vacation statutes seem sketchy. How do you prove it hasn’t been used without a public process? What happens is subdivision roads are accepted, but no lots are sold for years. Is a new dedication required?
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