HB1272
To Amend The Law Concerning Property Vacated By A Municipality; And To Require Vested Abandoned Property Be Conveyed With The Abutting Real Estate.
AI-Generated Summary
This bill amends Arkansas law concerning property vacated by a municipality. It clarifies that upon the adoption of an ordinance vacating a street or alley, absolute ownership of that property vests in the owners of the abutting real estate. Each abutting owner will take title to the center line of the vacated street or alley, free from the public use easement. Furthermore, the bill stipulates that any future conveyance of real estate abutting a vacated street or alley will automatically include the portion of the vacated street or alley that vested in the abutting owner, unless there is an express reservation. If the abutting real estate is platted, the plats will be amended to include these portions. This act is made retroactive to February 6, 1945, for all streets and alleys abandoned by cities or towns with abutting real estate.
Potential Impact Analysis
Who Might Benefit?
The primary beneficiaries of this bill are property owners whose land abuts streets or alleys that have been vacated by a municipality. Upon vacation, these property owners will gain absolute ownership of the portion of the vacated street or alley extending to the center line, thereby increasing their property size and potentially its value. This also simplifies future property transactions by ensuring that conveyances of abutting land automatically include these vacated areas unless explicitly excluded.
Who Might Suffer?
This bill is unlikely to negatively impact specific groups or entities in a direct, identifiable manner based solely on the provided text. The retroactivity clause might theoretically affect entities that previously claimed ownership or rights to vacated street or alley property between February 6, 1945, and the present, but the text does not provide details to identify such entities or the nature of potential impacts. Municipalities themselves are not directly negatively impacted, as the bill addresses the transfer of ownership of vacated property rather than preventing the vacation process.