Prior to recommending to the Legislature the deletion of a highway, or a portion thereof, from the state highway system, the commission or the department shall hold a public hearing on, and shall give written notices to the legislative bodies of the cities and counties located in the affected area of, the proposed recommendation, and shall publish notice of the public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the areas affected by the proposed deletion. The commission or the department may, at its own option, because of controversy or lack of local consensus, hold the hearing at a location which is reasonably convenient to the communities affected by the proposed deletion, to the general public, and to the commission or the department in the discharge of its regular business.