Could Concordia Parish abandon the part of Ferguson Road needed to reach land in Tensas Parish?

Plain-English summary

A district court judgment had declared Concordia Parish’s 2002 abandonment of its portion of Ferguson Road null and void and identified that section as a public road owned by the parish police jury. Representative Hill asked whether the parish could abandon it again, despite its role as the route to the Tensas Parish section and nearby properties.

The Attorney General concluded that the parish could abandon the road only on a showing that it no longer served a public purpose. The opinion considered the reported need to cross Concordia’s section to reach the Tensas section and the reported sole access for seven landowners. It treated those facts as weighing against abandonment, while leaving the factual determination to the responsible authority and, if challenged, a court. If abandoned, Concordia still could not give or sell the road to a private party; the AG identified a sale to another governmental entity, such as Tensas Parish, as the available option.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Did the 2002 abandonment settle the road’s status?

No. The opinion reported a 2015 district court judgment declaring that attempted abandonment null and void and the Concordia section a parish-owned public road.

Could the parish abandon the road while people still used it to reach the Tensas section?

The AG said abandonment required proof that the road no longer served a public purpose. Based on the facts presented, it appeared to the AG that the Concordia section still served one because it provided access to the Tensas section.

What about seven owners whose only property access used the road?

The opinion called abandonment without a showing that the use lacked a public purpose questionable. It cited a case where abandoning the only access to a landowner’s property was an abuse of discretion.

Would abandonment let the parish give the road to a private party?

No. The AG said a road that ceased to be public would become a private thing of the parish, subject to disposition law. It said Concordia could neither give nor sell this road to a private party; its option was a sale to another governmental entity, such as Tensas Parish.

Could the parish stop maintaining the road but keep title?

The AG said the parish had discretion to abandon maintenance if it proved the road no longer served a public purpose. Its answer did not dispense with the same public-purpose question.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion distinguished a parish-owned public road from a private road subject to a public passage right. It cited La. R.S. 33:1236(2)(a) on police jury road work and La. R.S. 33:4717(A) on disposition of certain public property. The reported 2015 judgment fixed the road’s then-current public status; the AG addressed what would be required for a later abandonment.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/15-0109

Original opinion text

~tate of llioutstana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
70804·9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

September 11, 2015
OPINION 15·0109

  The Honorable Dorothy Sue Hill                       50        HIGHWAYS- Roads
  State Representative                                 ss        POLICE JURIES- In General

District 32
La. R.S. 33:1236(2)(a); 334717(A)
529 Tramel Road
Ferguson Road, situated partly in Concordia Parish, is a public
Dry Creek, LA 70637
road and is owned by the Concordia Parish Police Jury. As
such, the Concordia Parish Police Jury can only abandon this road jf it proves that it no longer serves a pubnc purpose. Such
Dear Representative Hill: abandonment does not authorize the transfer of the road (0 a
private party.

You have requested an Attorney General's opinion regarding a proposed abandonment of a public road by the Concordia Parish Police Jury ("Concordia"). According to the facts presented in your request, a road known as Ferguson Road ("Road") is partially situated in Concordia Parish and partially in Tensas Parish. In order to reach the Tensas portion of the Road, it is necessary to travel across the Concordia portion of the Road.

In 2002, Concordia undertook an action by which it believed that it had abandoned the section of the road under its jurisdiction. SUbsequently, Tensas Parish landowners filed a lawsuit against Concordia and the purported private landowner who requested the abandonment.' On May 26, 2015, the Seventh Judicial District Court rendered a declaratory judqrnent ("Judgment") determining that Concordia's abandonment was null and void. The Judgment specifically decreed that "the section of the Ferguson Road, which is the subject of this Judgment is a public road and is owned by the Concordia Parish Police Jury. ,,2

As Concordia is now considering abandoning the same section of the Road, you pose a number of questions, which will be answered in the order in which they were presented.

1. Can Concordia abandon its portion of the Road if such portion is being used by Tensas to maintain the Tensas part of the road?

As an initial matter, we note that the term "public road" includes those roads that are owned in full ownership by a public entity and also those privately owned roads over which the public has only a right of passage (servltude)." According to the facts presented, the subject road is a public road owned by Concordia Parish." As such, the

, Zimmerman Farms, LLC. v. Davis, et al., Docket No. 47,985, Div. A, Seventh Judicial District Court.
2 Judgment at 2. According to the Clerk of Court's records, the JUdgment was not appealed.
3 La. Atty. Gen. Op, No. 08-0334.
4 Judgment at 2.

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Representative Hill
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Road can only be abandoned when it is no longer needed for public purposes." See Robinson v. Beauregard Parish Police Jury, 351 So.2d 113 (La. 1977); Luneau v. Avoyelles Parish Police Jury, 196 SO.2d 631 (La. App. 3rd Cir. 1967).

Whether a road serves a public purpose is a decision generally left to the discretion of the local public authority, but that body cannot act in an arbitrary or capricious manner in deciding whether to abandon a road." As noted in Luneau and in Robinson, supra, an interested party or parties may challenge the abandonment in court and such abandonment must be overturned if it can be proved that the public still uses the thoroughfare.

Although this office's opinion cannot substitute for a court's factual conclusion, according to the scenario presented in your request, it appears that even the Concordia section of the Road serves a public purpose because "[ajny person exercising the use of Ferguson Road must travel across the Concordia Parish portion of the road in order to reach the Tensas Parish portion of the road." However, if Concordia can prove that the Road is no longer needed for a public purpose, the Road ceases to be public and becomes a private thing of the political subdivlstcn," After this determination, the private thing is alienable but only in accordance with the applicable law. Specifically, La. R.S. 33:4717(A) authorizes police juries to dispose of public property no longer needed by the public to certain other governmental entities. This provision reads, in pertinent part (emphasis added), as follows:

Wherever, in the opinion of the governing authority of any parish or municipality, any immovable property, not taken by expropriation, owned by such parish or municipality, including streets, sidewalks, buildings, or any other property, dedicated to public use, shall no longer be needed or necessary for the public use to which it was originally destined or dedicated, and which property is needed for public buildings, public utilities or any other public use, by the United States of America, or the state of Louisiana, or any department or agency of either, or any parish or municipality, the governing authority of such parish or municipality shall have the power and authority, upon a two-thirds vote of the members present thereof, to revoke the destination or dedication of such property, and to sell at private sale to the United States of America, the state of Louisiana, or any department, or agency thereof, or any other parish or municipality, by which such property shall be needed for public buildings, public utilities, or other public use.

5 Note that because Concordia enjoys full ownership of the Road, it cannot rely on La. R.S. 48:701 to revoke the dedication of this road because this statute applies only to property that has been dedicated by private parties (via servitude), not to property that is pUblicly-owned. La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 14-0030A.
, La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 02-0091. citing Jeffries v. Police Jury of Rapldes Parish, 53 SO.2d 157 (La.App. 2 Cir.1951 ). 7 La. Ally. Gen. Op. No. 09-0023, citing, Yiannopoulos, 2 La. CIv. Law Treastise, Property, § 52 (4th ed.) (2008); Walker v. Coleman, 540 So.2d 983, 986 (La. 1989).

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OPINION 15-0109
Representative Hill
Page 3

Thus, under the facts presented, while Concordia may be able to alienate the Road by declaring it as private property owned by the parish, it cannot simply give or sell the Road to a private party. Concordia's only option in such a case is to sell the Road to another governmental entity (e.g., Tensas Parish).

2. Can Concordia abandon its portion of the Road if the road is being used by seven Tensas Parish landowners as their only means of access to their property?

In Luneau, the court found that an order of a parish police jury directing abandonment of an established public road constituted abuse of discretion where it appeared that the abandoned road constituted the only means by which one landowner could enter or leave his property. Also, in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 07-0043, this office determined that a parish road that dead-ends at a resident's home does not warrant abandonment of a public road for failure to serve a public purpose. Thus, it is our opinion that, because the Concordia section of the Road constitutes the only means of ingress and egress for seven Tensas Parish landowners, it follows that its abandonment without showing that its use is not for a "public purpose," is questionable.

3. Can Concordia maintain ownership of its portion of the Road, but abandon any obligation which it has to repair and maintain its portion of the Road?

La. R.S. 33:1236(2)(a) empowers police juries to regulate the making and repairing of roads when, in the opinion of the police jury, such work will further the best interests of the parish and the parish road system. Thus, if Concordia can prove that the Road does not serve a public purpose, then it has discretion to abandon its maintenance. In that case, the Road will cease to be a thing held by Concordia in its public capacity and will become a private thing of the political subdivision that may be alienated only pursuant to La. R.S. 33:4717(A).8

In sum, the Ferguson Road situated in Concordia Parish is a public road and is owned by the Concordia Parish Police Jury. As such, the Concordia Parish Police Jury can only abandon the Road if it proves that the Road no longer serves a public purpose.

We trust this adequately responds to your request. However, if our office can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours very truly,

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

• La. Ally. Gen. Op. No. 09-0023.

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OPINION 15-0109
Representative Hill
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~Iace Graham
Ryan M, Seidemann
Assistant Attorneys General

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