28-7204. Roadway sale; definition

A. The governing body may authorize the director to sell and convey the land within the roadway or portion of the roadway by quitclaim deed.

B. On conveyance, the roadway or portion of the roadway is deemed vacated, title to the roadway or portion of the roadway vests in the grantee and, if the grantee is an abutting owner, title vests subject to the same encumbrances, liens, limitations, restrictions and estates as exist on the grantee's abutting land.

C. At least sixty days before the date of the sale, a notice of sale describing the roadway or portion of the roadway to be sold shall:

1. Be posted at intervals of no more than one mile and in at least three places on or along the side of the roadway.

2. Make specific reference to this section.

3. State that a person may submit purchase offers and that abutting owners have preference rights pursuant to this article.

4. Be delivered or mailed to abutting owners of record if their addresses are known or can be readily discovered.

D. Abutting owners of record in whom title to a portion of the roadway would vest under section 28-7205 may deliver, at the sale or at any time before the sale, to the clerk or secretary of the governing body or the director, in the case of this state, a written offer to purchase the portion or a part of the portion for the consideration paid for the land by the city, town, county or state, whichever first acquired the land within the roadway for public use. If an offer is submitted in a timely manner, it shall be preferred over all other offers.

E. In the absence of an offer prescribed in subsection D of this section, the governing body or the director, in the case of this state, may sell the roadway or portion of the roadway for an amount of consideration it deems advisable.

F. A quitclaim deed issued under this section creates a presumption of compliance with the requirements of this article relating to the sale of the roadway or portion of the roadway, including recording, mailing and posting the notice of the sale and conducting the sale. The deed is conclusive evidence of meeting these requirements in favor of purchasers and encumbrancers for value and without actual notice. Knowledge of the grantor shall not be imputed to the grantee.

G. For the purposes of this section, " abutting owner" means the original owner of the vacated roadway or the original owner's heirs who have previously had a portion of the property acquired for roadway purposes and thereafter are left with an abutting remainder of property over which they still retain direct ownership.