By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The Great Bend City Council adopted an ordinance this week allowing a lot-tie agreement for property owners wanting to merge smaller lots into a larger lot for zoning purposes.
City Administrator Logan Burns said many pieces of property are owned contiguously by citizens, and many are not combined. The merger of lots would allow citizens to add buildable area to their property.
"Inspections has allowed combining lots in the past, but this just gives us a cleaner process," said Burns. "A lot of lots in newer areas and older areas of town...if it's a lot right beside each other and vacant, technically they are separate parcels. This would allow that to get merged together, but not be sold just as an accessory structure in a residential area."
In the past, the bank or mortgage company would often not allow parcels to be combined because of a lien on the property. This ordinance allows the Inspections Department to issue a permit for building and zoning purposes after a lot-tie agreement is carried out.
The property owner agrees that that the lots will be held under the same ownership and not sold separately.