Unfrugal House

 Someone sure messed up here.   A plat revision seems to be the easiest.
This is a very small village.  About 1,200 people.

http://lenconnect.com/articles/2006/11/20/news/news02.txt

      News

      Man's misplaced house, not street, to move



      Monday, November 20, 2006 8:51 AM EST



      Commissioners refuse to abandon a platted street right of way in
Jasper for a man who built a house on it by mistake.

      By Dennis Pelham

      Daily Telegram Staff Writer

      ADRIAN - The Lenawee County Road Commission board voted Friday not to
move a road for a misplaced house in Jasper. The board also discussed plans
to repair Deerfield's only bridge over the River Raisin and the impact of a
new state law on setting speed limits.

      A request to abandon a platted street right of way in Jasper because a
house was built on it by mistake was turned away by board members who said
the precedent would invite chaos. Steve Dempewolf made the request, saying
he discovered after his house was finished that part of it is on a platted
right of way for a street that has not been built. The platted street would
connect to a residential area on the east side of the village.

      "We messed up. I'll admit to anyone in the world we messed up,"
Dempewolf said. The question is what price has to be paid to clear up the
mistake, he said.


      "Even if it's an honest mistake, it's negligence on the part of the
developer," said road commissioner Robert Emery. He said he cannot support
the idea of moving streets and bending rules instead of fixing a mistake.

      "This board is not in favor of setting a precedent," said commissioner
Donald Isley. "The house exists and it's in the wrong place."

      Fairfield Township supervisor Janet Harsh said her board was also
opposed to abandoning the street right of way.

      Isley added that the Dempewolf's house was built in a residential
section of the village that was platted in 1873 but never fully developed.
There are streets and dozens of small lots on the east side of the village
that exist only on paper that developers are now interested in, he said,
that should be replatted to current standards.



      "I'm with Don. This whole plat needs to be updated," Emery said. With
the village of Jasper now served by a municipal sewer and water system there
is a potential for residential growth that was not possible before, he said.

      A plat revision could include a new street layout that would help with
Dempewolf's misplaced house, Emery said. It likely will still be cheaper and
easier for Dempewolf to move his house out of the street, Emery said,
because of the location of his lot and need for two access roads into the
undeveloped residential area.