Muncie-Delaware Planning Commission backs vacating sections of 1837 Mount Pleasant plat

The Muncie-Delaware Metropolitan Planning Commission on Monday voted to give a favorable recommendation for MPC 03-26a, a petition to vacate portions of the original 1837 plat of Mount Pleasant so several small parcels, streets and alleys can be combined into larger, marketable lots.

Kathy Van Nuys of Ashton Land Surveyor told the commission the plat dates to 1837 and several streets and alleys were never improved. "We actually have a barn that sits in the middle of one of the streets," Van Nuys said, and several houses are sited on very small lots that make redevelopment difficult. She recommended vacating those unimproved lots and rights-of-way so parcels can be recombined and sold.

Commission counsel explained the jurisdictional basis for the commission to hear the matter, citing Indiana Code 36-7-3-12, which gives the plan commission authority when the entire plat section is being vacated rather than only roads or alleys adjacent to kept lots. Counsel noted the commission previously handled a similar plat vacation to enable construction of the Campus Crest Apartments on Galliard Road.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about mapping and boundaries; Van Nuys said the proposal affects properties north of a curve on County Road 394/396 and that parcels and a cemetery nearby complicate any expansion south of that curve because cemetery plot rights would require coordination with the township trustee.

With no public speakers for or against the petition, a commissioner moved and the body approved the recommendation by roll-call vote, 8-0, forwarding the favorable recommendation to the next reviewing authority.