Chapter 17.50
VACATION OF PLATS, STREETS, AND OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
Sections:
17.50.010 Procedures.
Prior to consideration by the Board of Supervisors, all vacations of plats, streets, and other public lands shall be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission. A recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission shall be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors.
A. Vacation of Plats. The owners of lots within an official plat who wish to vacate any portion of the official plat shall file a petition with the Planning and Zoning Commission for review and recommendation. After review by the Commission, the petition and recommendation are filed with the Board of Supervisors, and they shall set a time and place for a public hearing on the petition. Written notice of the public hearing shall be provided to property owners within 500 feet of the area to be vacated. If a portion of the official plat adjoins a river or state-owned lake, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources shall be served written notice of the proposed vacation. Notice of the proposed vacation shall be published twice, with 14 days between publications, stating the date, time, and place of the public hearing.
The official plat or portion of the official plat shall be vacated upon recording of all of the following documents:
1. An instrument signed, executed, and acknowledged by all the property owners and mortgagees within the area of the official plat to be vacated, declaring the plat to be vacated. The instrument shall state the existing lot description for each property along with an accurate description to be used to describe the land after the lots are vacated.
2. A resolution by the Board of Supervisors approving the vacation and providing for the conveyance of those areas included in the vacation which were previously set aside for dedicated or public use.
3. A certificate of the County Auditor that the vacated part of the plat can be adequately described for assessment and taxation purposes without reference to the vacated lots.
B. Vacation of Streets and Other Public Lands. The County may vacate a part of an official plat that had been conveyed to the County or dedicated to the public which is deemed by the Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of Supervisors to be of no benefit to the public. The County shall vacate by resolution following a public hearing or by ordinance and the vacating instrument shall be recorded. The County may convey the vacated property by deed or may convey the property to adjoining property owners through the vacation instrument. If the vacating instrument is used to convey property, then the instrument shall include a list of adjoining property owners to whom the vacated property is being conveyed along with the corresponding legal description of each parcel being conveyed. A recorded vacation instrument which conforms to this section is equivalent to a deed of conveyance and the instrument shall be filed and indexed as a conveyance by the County Recorder and County Auditor. A vacation instrument recorded pursuant to this subsection shall not operate to annul any part of an official plat except as provided for in subsection A of this section. [Ord. 39 § 10, 1996. Code 2009 App. B, § 10.]