I was looking at on-line documents in the neighborhood of my sister's property at the semi-rural edge of a small town.?ÿ One of her neighbors owns much of two blocks of the original town, in which streets and alleys were never developed or used.?ÿ I found a deed from the town to the neighbor for the alley that borders her lots on one side.?ÿ Attached was the city council ordinance declaring that alley was vacated.?ÿ They sold her the alley for $1+costs.
Was it necessary to sell the alley to convey it??ÿ Was it okay to sell the alley??ÿ Didn't it automatically split to the adjacent lots??ÿ What about the interest in the alley that might belong to the lots owned by somebody else on the other side?
They also vacated a street between the two blocks that her lots are in, but I don't see that they sold the street.?ÿ It would seem the street would automatically go to her lots on both sides, so no sale needed, but why not treat it the same as the alley?
In my state the city/county can not convey any of the lands in a dedicated street. When it is vacated then reversionary rights take over, after all they are already there, vacation only removes the rights of the public and the rights of the abutters become dominate.?ÿ
However, if the city holds the streets and alleys in fee then they can. I will assume they didn't.?ÿ
In Arizona abandonments of dedicated public streets and alleys goes to the adjoiners. Dedication is a type of easement, not a transfer of ownership, so the City cannot sell anything.?ÿ
Iowa Code
354.19 Dedication of land.
1. An official plat which conforms to this chapter and has attached to the plat a dedication
by the proprietors to the public and approval of the dedication by the governing body is
equivalent to a deed in fee simple from the proprietors to the public of any land within the
plat that is dedicated for street, alley, walkway, park, open area, school property, or other
public use. An approved dedication of land for street purposes by the proprietors establishes
an easement for public access, whether or not a deed has been recorded or the improvement
of the street is complete, except when the resolution approving the plat specifically sets aside
portions of the dedicated land as not being open for public access at the time of recording
for public safety reasons. The recording of a subdivision plat shall dedicate to the public any
utility, sewer, drainage, access, walkway, or other public easement shown on the plat.
2. The recording of an auditor??s plat shall not serve to dedicate streets, alleys, parks, open
areas, school property, public improvements, or utilities. The failure to show the existence of
an easement or any public interest on the auditor??s plat shall not remove or otherwise affect
the interest.
Sometimes those in authority truly do not know what they are doing.
Bill, how long ago did the alley get abandoned compared to the street.?ÿ I know in CA there were problems with the wording of dedications on maps, and interpretations of that wording differed between agencies and over time.?ÿ I know on our townsite maps all public spaces went to the city or county in fee.?ÿ Also, if owned in fee title the agency has to sell the land as it would be against the public trust to give it away.
The town was laid out in the 1800's.?ÿ I haven't seen the paperwork for that, but doubt it followed current procedures for dedication and acceptance.?ÿ The vacation of the alley and street were in a city council resolution passed in 2003.
I'm confused by the wording in the code.?ÿ It says equivalent to a deed in fee simple to the public, and then goes on to say it creates an easement for public access.?ÿ Huh?
"It says equivalent to a deed in fee simple to the public, and then goes on to say it creates an easement for public access"
That sounds like some of the wording I've come across in old deeds and dedications.?ÿ 2003 is recent enough that they should have been processed the same, but like Cow said, "those in authority truly do not know what they are doing" or they are playing ignorant to benefit someone.
I will assume there are some Iowa Supreme Court cases that address the statute and maybe explain it further. Fee Simple Determinable is the language I see for describing the type of ownership in a dedicated street. This is less than full ownership. Abbuters still retain rights to the street. But there are statutory dedications and common law dedications
