11-251.16. Federal patent easements; county abandonment; exception

A. A county, at the request of a property owner, may abandon a federal patent easement established by the small tract act of 1938 that the county determines, after notifying and obtaining the consent of all affected utilities, is not being used by the public or is no longer necessary.

B. At least sixty days before the consideration of an abandonment resolution, the board of supervisors shall give written notice of the abandonment proposal and the date and time of its consideration by certified mail at the address shown in the records of the county assessor to the owners of the land abutting the easement to be abandoned. The notice shall inform recipients of the opportunity and deadline to object in writing or in person on the date of the board's scheduled consideration of the abandonment proposal. The board of supervisors shall not resolve to abandon an easement unless a majority of the owners of the land abutting the easement approves the action. An owner who does not object in writing to the abandonment proposal on or before the date of the board's scheduled consideration of the proposal or in person on the date of the board's scheduled consideration of the proposal shall be deemed to have consented to the abandonment proposal. The board shall post a copy of the notice at or in the immediate vicinity of the proposed abandonment.

C. This section does not apply to the abandonment of a roadway that was granted under Revised Statute 2477 (43 United States Code section 932) that was enacted by the United States Congress in 1866.