§ 36-7-4-711 — Vacation of plats; alternate procedure; petition; notice and hearing

(a) The plan commission (or plat
committee acting on its behalf), proceeding in accordance with IC 36-7-3-10 or with this section, has exclusive control over the vacation
of plats or parts of plats.
(b) In a case in which not all the owners of land in a plat are in
agreement regarding a proposed vacation, this section provides an
alternate procedure under which one (1) or more owners of land in the
plat may file with the plan commission a petition to vacate all the plat
or only that part of the plat that pertains to land owned by the petitioner
or petitioners. A petition under this section must:
(1) state the reasons for and the circumstances prompting the
request;
(2) specifically describe the property in the plat proposed to be
vacated; and
(3) give the name and address of every other owner of land in the
plat.
(c) Subject to section 714 of this chapter, a petition under this
section may also include a request to vacate any recorded covenants
filed as a part of the plat.
(d) Not more than thirty (30) days after receipt of a petition under
this section, the plan commission staff shall announce the date for the
hearing before the plan commission (or plat committee acting on the
plan commission's behalf). The plan commission shall adopt rules
prescribing procedures for setting hearing dates and for providing other
notice as may be required in accordance with this chapter. The
petitioner shall pay all expenses of providing the notice required by this
subsection.
(e) The plan commission shall adopt rules prescribing procedures
for the conduct of the hearing, which must include a provision giving
every other owner of land in the plat an opportunity to comment on the
petition.
(f) After hearing the petition, the plan commission or plat committee
shall approve or disapprove the request. The commission or committee
may approve the vacation of all or part of a plat only upon a
determination that:
(1) conditions in the platted area have changed so as to defeat the
original purpose of the plat;
(2) it is in the public interest to vacate all or part of the plat; and
(3) the value of that part of the land in the plat not owned by the
petitioner will not be diminished by the vacation.
(g) The commission or committee may impose reasonable
conditions as part of any approval. The commission or committee shall
furnish a copy of the commission's or committee's decision to the
county recorder for recording.
(h) An applicant or other interested party may appeal the approval
or disapproval of a vacation by the plat committee in the manner
prescribed by section 402(d) of this chapter.
[Pre-Local Government Recodification Citations: 18-7-2-56
part; 18-7-4-711(a) part; 18-7-5-54 part.]
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.23. Amended by
P.L.220-1986, SEC.23; P.L.126-2011, SEC.22.