Officials reject petition to vacate

Issue involves portion of undeveloped road in Grafton Township

The Lorain County commissioners have voted to reject a petition to vacate an undeveloped portion of Dellwood Road in Grafton Township.

Commissioner Matt Lundy said in defending the board’s Nov. 25 decision that private property rights of the homeowner must take precedence.

“This is one of the things about government, we have complicated issues. And I know there’s strong arguments on both sides of the issue,” Lundy said. “For me, I can tell you I kept going back to that for anybody who lives on the street, lives adjacent to this property, that they have known all these years, that there’s a possibility that there were streets in the area, or a street could open up at the end of the street.”

The hearing involved a Grafton Township homeowner who purchased a 30-acre plot in June with the understanding the area of Dellwood could be developed further in the future along with two paper streets – roads that technically exist in county documents but have yet to be built.

The owners of the property in question on Grafton Road stressed they had no plans to develop the land further, with attorney Erik Breunig arguing vacating the road would violate their private property rights.

“What we’re really talking about is abrogating property rights that are vested interests of certain property owners and weighing that abrogation of property rights against this perceived public benefit of having streets vacated for the speculative reasons of public health and safety,” Breunig said, in a prior meeting Nov. 17.

The commissioners agreed, with Lundy noting surrounding property owners have known potential development of those streets was a possibility, and a vote to vacate the roads could set a troubling precedent down the line.

“And I know that probably we wouldn’t be here today and the neighbors wouldn’t be in the room had this issue not been brought forward, right,” he said. “So, we had peace in the land, everything was just fine and everybody was aware that there’s a potential for the streets in the future. And so I think it’s important that we at least acknowledge that that did previously exist long before this board came along, going all the way back to

1927.”

“I’ve always been an advocate for private property rights, so I have a concern about what would take place if we were in fact to vacate,” Lundy continued. “I certainly respect everybody in the room and their private property rights. I guess it would just ask that you please understand my thinking about it is that everybody has had the knowledge that these are on the books, whether they’ve been officially erected, dedicated, whatever those legal discussions are.

“But, but I think everybody at least acknowledges having the knowledge that those streets they’re on the books and potentially become could become more formal.”