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Iowa Code (Last Updated: December 05, 2016) |
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Title IX. LOCAL GOVERNMENT |
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Chapter 354. PLATTING — DIVISION AND SUBDIVISION OF LAND |
Section 354.22. Vacation of official plats.
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1. The proprietors of lots within an official plat who wish to vacate any portion of the official plat shall file a petition for vacation with the governing body which would have jurisdiction to approve the plat at the time the petition is filed. After the petition has been filed, the governing body shall fix the time and place for public hearing on the petition. Written notice of the proposed vacation shall be served in the manner of original notices as provided in Iowa rules of civil procedure and be served upon proprietors and mortgagees within the official plat that are within three hundred 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 fourteen days between publications, stating the date, time, and place of the hearing.
2. The official plat or portion of the official plat shall be vacated upon recording of all of the following documents:
a. An instrument signed, executed, and acknowledged by all the proprietors 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 proprietor along with an accurate description to be used to describe the land after the lots are vacated.
b. A resolution by the governing body approving the vacation and providing for the conveyance of those areas included in the vacation which were previously set aside or dedicated for public use.
c. A certificate of the auditor that the vacated part of the plat can be adequately described for assessment and taxation purposes without reference to the vacated lots.
3. No part of this section authorizes the closing or obstructing of public highways.
4. The vacation of a portion of an official plat shall not remove or otherwise affect a recorded restrictive covenant, protective covenant, building restriction, or use restriction. Recorded restrictions on the use of property within an official plat shall be modified or revoked by recording a consent to the modification or removal, signed and acknowledged by the proprietors and mortgagees within the official plat.