Emily Brown
The city of Trenton, Ohio has issued an update on a bizarre mistake that left a landowner in charge of an entire street, rather than just the plot of land he'd intended to buy.
Jason Fauntleroy's ordeal began in 2021, when he handed over $5,000 to purchase a plot of land on Bloomfield Court in Trenton, just north of Cincinnati.
Fauntleroy bought the plot at a Butler County Sheriff’s Office auction and had planned to build a new house there, but after the sale went through, it turned out that the new owner hadn't just bought one plot, but also the entire road to go along with it.
Bloomfield Court road serves five other houses on the street, and while Fauntleroy didn't obtain ownership of the other properties, he found himself responsible for maintaining the road that they all used.
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Speaking to WCPO after the mistake came to light, Trenton City Manager Marcos Nichols said: “I’m not sure how that occurs other than it was a private drive that was created through a homeowner’s association.
"The homeowner’s association was responsible for maintaining that property and upkeeping it.”
Three years after Fauntleroy bought the land, the city of Trenton began the process of reclaiming the road through eminent domain - a process which left Fauntleroy arguing that he wasn't being offered what he deserved for the land.
While Nichols said previously he could 'not speak to the appraised value', the city manager has now issued an update to UNILAD confirming that the issue has been 'resolved'.
He explained: "The case was settled and the private road has been accepted as a City maintained road."
Nichols continued: "Since this road was never a City road, but a private road that was maintained by the Home Owners’ Association (HOA) we have incorporated this road into our local paving project for this year – after conducting a road assessment we found that the final top coat of asphalt had never been applied and we intend on bringing the road up to our standards which is beneficial from a driving and drainage perspective."
The update confirms Nichols' previous comments on the city's plans for buying the road, when he explained it wanted to convert Bloomfield Court into a public roadway. The conversion of the road means Fauntleroy is no longer responsible for looking after the stretch of land that serves the other houses in the area.