Washington County to tackle abandoned railroad legal issue

WASHINGTON — The Washington County Board of Supervisors plans to hold a public hearing Tuesday, Jan. 10, in an effort to dispossess land containing an abandoned railroad with conflicting property law claims between 13 land owners and the county.

Washington County Attorney John Gish called the legal issue “a mess,” which got complicated after the county purchased the land in the late ‘80s and, for unknown reasons, returned it to the tax roll in the ‘90s.

“Adjoining landowners claimed interest in it, and I don’t even know where to go next, but basically there’s a dispute over who owns that property,” Gish said at a meeting in December. “There’s a code section that says abandoned railroads revert to adjoining landowners, but we bought it, so I think there are legitimate legal issues here over who owns this land.”

Gish said a developer bought the land in 2021, but was not made aware of the muddied waters until attempting to sell it in 2022, with consultation from a new law firm. He recommended finding a way to get the land out of county hands, in order to avoid risks of litigation.

“The county bought this piece of land for $114, so it’s not like the County has invested a great deal of time or expense,” Gish said. “And we’ve collected a lot of money in taxes from that stretch of land too.”

In the meantime, the legal lockup prevents development of the land.

“The effect is that they can’t sell or build on it, and I think that’s what the developer intended,” Gish said. “They’re paying taxes for it, and yet, it can do nothing.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com