Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 7. LOCAL GOVERNMENT

CHAPTER 5. GENERAL OPERATION AND CONDUCT OF BUSINESS

Part 25. Vacation of Plats

Vacation Of Portion Of Village Or Townsite

7-5-2502. Vacation of portion of village or townsite. (1) When only a portion of any village or townsite in any unincorporated village or town is sought to be vacated or excluded from the village or townsite and the portion is not less than three blocks in area and is situated at the limits or boundaries of the village or townsite, a verified petition may be filed in the office of the clerk of the district court of the county where the village or townsite is situated by the owner or owners of all the property sought to be vacated or excluded. The petition must be addressed to the district court of the county, setting forth the description of the portion sought to be excluded and the reason or reasons for desiring the portion to be excluded. A citation must be issued by the judge of the court before whom the matter is pending, citing all persons interested in the matter to appear before the court at a time and place specified in the citation, but at a time not less than 3 weeks from the date of the citation. The citation must be published as provided in 7-1-2121.

(2) Upon the hearing of the petition and upon conditions that may seem reasonable, the court may vacate and exclude the portion of the village or townsite as requested in the petition, including any streets, alleys, parks, or boulevards upon which a public easement or easements may not vest. The excluded property must be described by metes and bounds in the decree of the court, and the property must be assessed accordingly.

History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 6, L. 1907; Sec. 3548, Rev. C. 1907; re-en. Sec. 5308, R.C.M. 1921; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 54, L. 1929; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 117, L. 1935; re-en. Sec. 5308, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 70, L. 1951; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 27, L. 1955; R.C.M. 1947, 11-2803(part); amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 354, L. 2001.