Phantom roadways in a Pulaski County subdivision are preventing one resident from selling some of her land. When the Whipple Crest subdivision was platted several decades ago, it apparently included a number of roads. But the roads were never built, and the place where they would have gone has since become overgrown with brush.
Now, resident Karen Hill wants them cleared. “My purpose today is to find out who’s responsible for the roadways at Whipple Crest subdivision,” she told the county commissioners last week. “Nobody owns them. Nobody pays taxes on them. I don’t want them.”
Hill said the problem is that the brush on the non-existent roadways is currently blocking access to some of her property. “I want them opened up so that I can sell these four lots that are now landlocked,” she said. “That’s not fair to me.” Hill explained that she didn’t want new roads built. She simply wanted the site cleared.
Commissioner Kenny Becker felt that since the developer failed to install any physical roads and turn them over to the county, the county isn’t responsible for the site now. He pointed out that even where roads do exist, the land where they sit still actually belongs to the neighboring property owners. “Well, I’m going to say, actually, you own that,” Becker told Hill. “You own all that.”
“I don’t want it!” Hill replied.
“We don’t want it either because for us to go in there and tear all that out, that’s going to cost a lot of money,” Becker responded. He suggested that Hill contact an attorney to determine what her next steps would be, to prepare the property for sale.
