Agenda 01/26/1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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DAVID B. WORTHY CiTY ATTORNEY City of Martinsville VIRGINIA January 7, 1999 Mr. Wayne D. P. Knox Planning/Zoning and Housing Manager P. O. Box 1112 Martinsville, VA 24114 Re: Street abandonment request -Thomasson Street Dear Wayne: This is to respondto your letter of September 21, 1998 on the above, which involves a request to vacate part 0fThomasson Street, which is actually .a paper street. Thomasson Street is shown on a map of property of O. W. Thomasson, showing his subdivision of lots on Knowl, Union, and Thomasson Streets, which ma.p is recorded:in Henry CoUntyin Map Book 1 at page 139 prior to the'time that Martinsville became' a city in'i941~' It is presently the law that when a subdivision map is 'put on record that fee simple title to all of the streets and other public rights of way shown thereon vests in-the city, making all such streets public streets Whether they are streets on the ground or merely paper streets. However, at the time this map was put on record the law was different and the recordation of such a plat merely constituted an offer to dedicate the street for public purposes but before any such dedication for public purposes could occur, there had to be an acceptance by the goveming body. Such acceptance is usually indicated by a formal resolution of the governing body or by some 'exercise of dominion by the governing body over the street in question by paving or otherwise improving same and opening it up to traffic. To my knowledge there is no evidence whatsoever that Henry County ever ac~:epted the offer of dedication made by Mr. Thomasson by exercising some dominion over Thomasson Street, nor, to my knowledge, has the City of Martinsville ever done this, meaning that said street is not a public street, t. hat the fights of all of the parties in this case are private, rather than public fights, and that there is no public fight of way on Thomasson Street which might be vacated by Council. As far as private fights are concerned, each party buying a lot in a subdivision of this sort b~.mZi~ ~hfit..l. ed ~o :us~.Tal..,! 0,'f th~'.itreets~ pap..e.t' or, q..the.rWise shOWn on the subdivision plat unlesi igd:,Untii something isdone to diveSt that piirty 6fSuch fight~ which iS" i'piiVate any disputi~'0ver'Sarne.would have to be reSolved. by .theparties' privately eithei by :agr~m~tit or by a lawsuit, 'In other Words, there are'presently no public fightS~ aSSociated with Thomai~0ff