§ 136-96. Road or street not used within 15 years after dedication deemed abandoned; declaration of withdrawal recorded; joint tenants or tenants in common; defunct corporations. - North Carolina Statutes

§136‑96.  Road or street not used within 15 years after dedication deemedabandoned; declaration of withdrawal recorded; joint tenants or tenants incommon; defunct corporations.

Every strip, piece, or parcelof land which shall have been at any time dedicated to public use as a road,highway, street, avenue, or for any other purpose whatsoever, by a deed, grant,map, plat, or other means, which shall not have been actually opened and usedby the public within 15 years from and after the dedication thereof, shall bethereby conclusively presumed to have been abandoned by the public for thepurposes for which same shall have been dedicated; and no person shall have anyright, or cause of action thereafter, to enforce any public or private easementtherein, except where such dedication was made less than 20 years prior toApril 28, 1953, such right may be asserted within one year from and after April28, 1953; provided, that no abandonment of any such public or private right oreasement shall be presumed until the dedicator or some one or more of thoseclaiming under him shall file and cause to be recorded in the register's officeof the county where such land lies a declaration withdrawing such strip, pieceor parcel of land from the public or private use to which it shall havetheretofore been dedicated in the manner aforesaid; provided further, thatwhere the fee simple title is vested in tenants in common or joint tenants ofany land embraced within the boundaries of any such road, highway, street,avenue or other land dedicated for public purpose whatsoever, as described inthis section, any one or more of such tenants, on his own or their behalf andon the behalf of the others of such tenants, may execute and cause to beregistered in the office of the register of deeds of the county where such landis situated the declaration of withdrawal provided for in this section, and,under Chapter 46 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, entitled"Partition," and Chapter 1, Article 29A of the General Statutes ofNorth Carolina, known as the "Judicial Sales Act," and on petition ofany one or more of such tenants such land thereafter may be partitioned by saleonly as between or among such tenants, and irrespective of who may be in actualpossession of such land, provided further, that in such partition proceedingsany such tenants in common or joint tenants may object to such withdrawalcertificate and the court shall thereupon order the same cancelled of record;that where any corporation has dedicated any strip, piece or parcel of land inthe manner herein set out, and said dedicating corporation is not now inexistence, it shall be conclusively presumed that the said corporation has nofurther right, title or interest in said strip, piece, or parcel of land, regardlessof the provisions of conveyances from said corporation, or those holding undersaid corporation, retaining title and interest in said strip, piece, or parcelof land so dedicated; the right, title and interest in said strip, piece, orparcel of land shall be conclusively presumed to be vested in those persons,firms or corporations owning lots or parcels of land adjacent thereto, subjectto the provisions set out herein before in this section.

The provisions of this sectionshall have no application in any case where the continued use of any strip ofland dedicated for street or highway purposes shall be necessary to affordconvenient ingress or egress to any lot or parcel of land sold and conveyed bythe dedicator of such street or highway. This section shall apply todedications made after as well as before April 28, 1953.

The provisions of this sectionshall not apply when the public dedication is part of a future street shown onthe street plan adopted pursuant to G.S. 136‑66.2.  Upon request, a cityshall adopt a resolution indicating that the dedication described in theproposed declaration of withdrawal is or is not part of the street plan adoptedunder G.S. 136‑66.2.  This resolution shall be attached to thedeclaration of withdrawal and shall be registered in the office of the registerof deeds of the county where the land is situated. (1921, c. 174; C.S., ss.3846(rr), 3846(ss), 3846(tt); 1939, c. 406; 1953, c. 1091; 1957, c. 517; 1987,c. 428.)