Marshall County’s Planning Commission on Nov. 20 tabled consideration of a request to vacate a recorded lakeside easement at 16834 Mill Pond Trail and referred the matter for legal review.

The applicants, Patrick and Bianca Lettens, asked the commission to recommend that county commissioners vacate a roughly 45-foot strip labeled only as an “easement” on the 1974 Rolling Meadows Subdivision plat. Planning staff told the commission the plat contains minimal dedication language and that aerial photos show an overgrown outcropping into Mill Pond Lake that means the corridor is not reliably usable.

Staff recommended a favorable recommendation to the county commissioners only “to the extent possible by the authority the county has,” and said the county attorney was consulted earlier in the day, but that additional legal research was needed to confirm whether Marshall County has the authority to vacate the particular dedication language recorded on the 1974 plat.

Applicant Patrick Lettens and his neighbor told the commission the adjacent owners have maintained the corridor, and one speaker said his neighbor had maintained it “for the last 25 years.” Applicants said they did not intend to build on the easement and offered to sign maintenance agreements if required.

Commissioners expressed concern about potential third-party claims to access by other lot owners in Rolling Meadows, and about fire‑fighting access in similar lake‑access areas. Because of uncertainty about ownership and jurisdiction — including whether state agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources might assert interest in shoreline access — the commission voted to table the item and asked staff to have the county attorney contact relevant agencies and report back. The county attorney is expected to be able to review the issue after Dec. 1, and the applicants were told the commission would revisit the item at its next meeting in mid‑December.

No formal recommendation to the county commissioners was forwarded at the Nov. 20 meeting.