Boone County area planning commissioners on Dec. 3 heard more than an hour of testimony and legal argument over whether the county highway department can require landowners to deed (transfer fee simple ownership of) roadside strips instead of recording a dedication of right‑of‑way. After extensive public comment and staff explanation, the commission voted to table a proposed change to the subdivision control ordinance that would add signature lines for the county highway director and county surveyor to plats until the Boone County commissioners clarify their intent.

The dispute centered on whether the language in the county ordinance requires conveyance in fee simple or merely the conveyance/dedication of right‑of‑way. Attorney Mike Andreoli, representing property applicants, said the commission has no authority to add that obligation and warned of property‑rights consequences. "That's a confiscational ground," Andreoli said of the highway department's insistence that owners transfer the ground in fee simple, arguing the ordinance previously approved by the commission required only dedication, not a deed of the land.

A Highway Department representative (unnamed in the transcript) defended the practice as a protection for taxpayers and a practical requirement for federally and state‑funded projects. "When it comes to bridge projects, roundabout projects, road widening projects, when it comes to state and federal funds, you physically have to have it," the representative said, explaining that owning the land avoids later costly purchases and condemnation proceedings.

Commissioners and local surveyors described inconsistent past practice: some recorded plats showed a dedicated right‑of‑way, some included separate right‑of‑way parcels with accompanying deeds, and some recorded plats did not have deeds in the county record. Members raised concerns about how and when a conveyance would be executed—before or after plat recordation—and about selective enforcement that could expose sellers, buyers and title companies to risk.

After the debate, the planning commission voted to table the subdivision control amendment that would add signature lines to plats and directed staff and interested parties to seek clarification from the Boone County commissioners about the ordinance's intended effect. The transcript does not include roll‑call vote counts for the tabling motion; the action was approved by voice vote.

The commission also agreed that, in the short term, applicants whose plats were previously approved could resubmit corrected plats or pursue other administrative steps if the planning director declines to sign; several speakers said they would take the matter to the county commissioners at their Dec. 15 meeting for a final determination.

The item remains unresolved pending formal direction from the county commissioners.