14-423. Improving and vacating streets and alleys; reversion of land; recording of ordinance. The governing body of any city of the second class shall have power to open, widen, extend or otherwise improve any street, avenue, alley, or lane, and also to vacate or discontinue the same and also to vacate or cancel any lot, block, townsite, part of townsite, addition or part of addition whenever deemed necessary or expedient. Before the governing body shall open, widen or extend any street, avenue, alley, or lane, it shall proceed to condemn or acquire by purchase or gift the necessary lands as provided by law. Whenever any street, avenue, alley, or lane shall be vacated, the same shall revert to the owners of real estate thereto adjacent on each side in proportion to the frontage of such real estate, except in cases where such street, avenue, alley or lane shall have been taken and appropriated to public use in different proportions, in which case it shall revert to adjacent lots of real estate in proportion as it was taken from them, and whenever any lot, block, townsite, part of townsite, addition or part of addition shall be vacated, all of the streets, avenues, alleys, and lanes therein shall revert as above provided.

Immediately after an ordinance opening, widening, extending, or vacating any street, avenue, alley or lane or vacating any lot, block, townsite, part of townsite, addition or part of addition becomes effective, the clerk of the city shall file a copy thereof which has been certified by the clerk as a true and correct copy in the office of the county clerk and in the office of the register of deeds. The county clerk shall enter the same in the transfer records of the county clerk's office. The register of deeds shall record the same in the deed records of the county and no fee shall be charged by the county clerk or register of deeds for such entering or recording. No reversion provided for herein shall be so applied as to divest any person of possession who is in actual or constructive possession of such property. The ordinance so vacating, discontinuing, or canceling shall provide that the same shall become effective 30 days after the publication thereof unless one or more interested parties file a written protest before the expiration of such time.

In the event such a protest is filed in the office of the city clerk of the city within such time the governing body shall set the same for hearing 10 days after the end of the 30 day period above mentioned. The hearing may be continued from time to time, and at the conclusion thereof the governing body shall adopt a resolution confirming the vacation ordinance and the same shall then be filed with the county clerk and register of deeds as provided above, or in the event such resolution is not adopted, the vacation ordinance shall be void and of no effect.

History: R.S. 1923, § 14-423; L. 1939, ch. 129, § 1; L. 1951, ch. 142, § 2; L. 1961, ch. 102, § 1; L. 1984, ch. 65, § 6; July 1.