MBE Fast Fact: Dedication of Land

As we approach the July exam, ideally you'll begin to feel comfortable with the more commonly tested issues on the MBE, and you'll be able to dig deeper into the the areas that are less tested but do come up. One such issue involves a person (often a developer) dedicating land to a public body.

Land may be transferred to a public body (often a city or county) by dedication. The offer of dedication may be either written or oral, and both submission of a map or plat showing the dedication, or opening the land for public use will both suffice to satisfy an offer of dedication. The acceptance of such offer by the public agency is necessary, and may be accomplished by either a formal resolution, approval of the map or plat, or actual assumption of the maintenance or construction of improvements on the land by the public agency.

When you see a question implicating dedication, it's important to first note that such dedication (provided the requirements above are satisfied) is entirely valid. The property will pass to the public agency just as it would pass to any individual purchaser.