14-301-110. Straightening or abandoning streets in cities of over 15,000 inhabitants.

14-301-110. Straightening or abandoning streets in cities of over 15,000 inhabitants. (a) Every city which has a population of more than fifteen thousand (15,000) inhabitants as shown by the last federal census shall have the right in all cases where a street contains offsets and sufficient property is dedicated to the offsets to: (1) Straighten the street and eliminate any one (1) or more of the offsets; (2) Abandon, with the consent of the abutting property owners and any other persons directly interested, such part of the property formerly used as a street which shall not be within the line of the street as straightened. (b) When any person owning property abutting any part of the property proposed to be abandoned as a street shall present to the city council his petition praying that any property be abandoned as a street, the city council shall by resolution direct the city clerk to give notice by a publication one (1) time a week for two (2) weeks in some newspaper published in the county in which the city may lie. To advise the property owners affected that on a day named in the notice the council will hear the petition and determine whether the property should be abandoned as a street and whether all abutting property owners and other persons directly interested have consented to the abandonment. At the meeting named in the notice, all property owners affected shall be heard before the council, which shall determine whether the property should be abandoned and whether all abutting property owners and other persons directly interested have consented to the abandonment. The determination and finding of the council shall be conclusive unless within thirty (30) days thereafter suit is brought to review its action in the chancery court of the county where the city lies. In determining whether all abutting property owners and other persons directly interested have consented to the abandonment, the council and the chancery court shall be guided by the record of deeds in the office of the recorder of the county and shall not consider any unrecorded instrument. (c) If the council finds that the property should be abandoned as a street and that all abutting property owners and other persons directly interested have consented to the abandonment, the finding shall be expressed in an ordinance which shall have all of the force and effect of a judgment. Thereupon, the absolute ownership of the property abandoned shall vest in the owners of the fee simple title to the property free from the former easement of the city therein for public use as a street.