06/07/2026
Proposed Vacation of a Portion of County Road 238: Your Coffee County Commission has received a petition requesting the vacation of its prescriptive right-of-way for a portion of County Road 238.
Alabama law establishes a specific procedure that must be followed before the Commission can consider such a request. The process is governed by Code of Alabama § 23-4-2, which requires public notice, a public hearing, and an opportunity for interested parties to be heard before any action may be taken.
Timeline for the Proposed Vacation of a Portion of County Road 238
As noted above, Alabama law establishes a specific procedure that must be followed before the Coffee County Commission can consider a petition to vacate a public road. The following timeline outlines the required steps for the proposed vacation of a portion of County Road 238:
• June 8, 2026: Because the road is located in District 1, the District 1 Commissioner must make the motion to accept the petition into the Commission's records and begin the statutory notification process. This motion does not vacate the road. It simply accepts the landowner's petition and sets in motion public notification and a public hearing.
• June 8, 2026: Notice of the public hearing will also be posted at the courthouses and Commission offices.
• June 8, 2026: Certified notices will be mailed to all abutting property owners and public utilities.
• June 11, June 18, June 25, and July 2, 2026: Notice of the public hearing will be published in the Elba Clipper for four consecutive weeks as required by law.
• July 13, 2026: At 9:00 a.m. a public hearing will be held during the regular Coffee County Commission meeting. Citizens will have an opportunity to speak for or against the proposed vacation.
• July 13, 2026: Following the public hearing, the Commission may take action on the petition.
• July 13, 2026: If the landowner's petition is approved, the resolution vacating the portion of County Road 238 will be filed in the Probate Office.
• July 16, 2026: Notice of the Commission's action will be published in the Elba Clipper.
The purpose of this process is to ensure that all affected landowners, utility providers, and members of the public have notice and an opportunity to be heard before any decision is made. There are maps posted in the comments of this post.
Types of Right-of-Ways:
A prescriptive right-of-way is a public road that exists through long public use rather than a recorded deed. In most cases, the adjacent landowners still own the property to the centerline of the road, subject to the public's right to travel. The road itself is under the custody and control of the county, meaning adjoining landowners cannot close, alter, repair, or obstruct it. Utilities are often located within or beneath the traveled roadway itself rather than in a separately deeded right-of-way.
A deeded right-of-way is a strip of land that has been formally conveyed to the county through a deed, easement, condemnation, or other recorded legal instrument. The county's rights and the width of the right-of-way are typically defined in the recorded documents. Unlike a prescriptive right-of-way, the county has a documented property interest in the land rather than merely the right to maintain and control a road. Utilities, drainage structures, slopes, ditches, and other roadway features are often located within the deeded right-of-way outside the traveled portion of the road.
