HUNTSVILLE – Not all water access is great water access, according to Huntsville deputy mayor Scott Aitchison.
Aitchison raised the issue at a February council meeting during a discussion about dock leases and shore road allowance use.
“I noted in that policy it still (states) we won’t sell road allowances that lead to water. Period,” he said.
Aitchison had suggested at a previous committee meeting that the town should reconsider that policy. He said that if a property owner wants to purchase a road allowance that leads to water, and that road allowance is inaccessible or unusable for the general public, the town could barter an exchange of property whereby the town gets better public water access or land elsewhere.
“If (the person looking to purchase the road allowance) wants to exchange it for other lands that would make sense for public use, we could look at that,” said Aitchison. “The policy as it stands is a little too simple for (what) we deal with everyday.”
Mayor Claude Doughty alluded to previous transactions where the town had traded properties in exchange for road allowances, but recommended a review of the policy at a future meeting.