[Massplanners] Private roads???

Wed Dec 8 15:26:46 EST 2021

All,

The Town of Arlington frequently addresses concerns about private ways, as 
we have a significant number of private ways throughout town (21 miles or 
about 15% of our total roadway mileage). A few years ago, in relation to a 
question/issue with a particular street, our Town Counsel provided a memo to 
our Select Board (formerly Board of Selectmen) that went over the history 
and legal standing of private ways -- see attached.

In general, the private ways most of us deal with are "statutory" private 
ways where the public has legal access to use them, but they are privately 
maintained. There are specific allowances in state law for specific kinds of 
maintenance done with public money, snow plowing in particular, and there is 
a "betterment" process to allow a municipality to pave a road and charge the 
local abutters/private way owners over a period of time. The attached 
document provides more backstory and references the legal standard better 
than I can. I am not an attorney, so for your own purposes you should 
consult your Town Counsel. Note that this memo is in reference a town 
meeting form of government and may not entirely apply to cities.

See also, Arlington's Town Bylaws - "Repairs to Private Ways" 
https://www.arlingtonma.gov/town-governance/laws-and-regulations/town-bylaws/title-iii-public-and-private-ways#A3

This process is managed through our Select Board office, so please contact 
them should you have any questions.

Best,

Daniel Amstutz, AICP
Senior Transportation Planner
Department of Planning & Community Development
Town of Arlington
730 Massachusetts Avenue
Arlington, MA 02476
(781) 316-3093
damstutz at town.arlington.ma.us

*Arlington values equity, diversity, and inclusion. We are committed to 
building a community where everyone is heard, respected, and protected.*

From: "Duperault, Joy \(DCR\) via MassPlanners" <massplanners at masscptc.org>
To: "massplanners at masscptc.org" <massplanners at masscptc.org>
Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2021 19:23:35 +0000
Subject: Re: [Massplanners] Private roads???

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But if the town is plowing the private road, isn’t that spending public 
money?  On a slightly different twist, there’s a town in FL where the 
private “road” (dirt pavement) was taken over by the County, who later 
decided not to maintain the road any more (far too expensive) and was 
subsequently was sued by the residents.  Here’s the case:  
https://www.floridasupremecourt.org/content/download/345803/file/11-1294_JurisIni.pdf

Take care,

Joy Duperault, CFM

617-626-1406 or joy.duperault at mass.gov

From: MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> On Behalf Of Thomas 
Bott via MassPlanners
Sent: Wednesday, December 8, 2021 12:35 PM
To: massplanners at masscptc.org; RICHARD CLARK <rpclark508 at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [Massplanners] Private roads???

CAUTION: This email originated from a sender outside of the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts mail system.  Do not click on links or open attachments unless 
you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Dear Richard:

If the Town hasn’t accepted it it’s private. 

Many many towns deal with this. The Road Commissioners aka the Select Peeps 
will sometimes make policies to allow plowing private roads, with a public 
safety rationale, based on the condition of the road surface. Most won’t 
“fix” private (see succinct definition above) ways because you can’t 
spend public money on private property.

TBott 

Thomas Bott Town Planner, in absentia, MASS

please pardon the intrusion its been a slow day on both Elba and Saint 
Helena

You too could follow me on Twitter @TBottPlimoth but it clearly isn’t 
necessary

On Wednesday, December 8, 2021, 12:06:25 PM EST, RICHARD CLARK via 
MassPlanners <massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

Hello,

Does anyone have a good (easily understood) definition of a private road?

We have an unaccepted subdivision roadway that is used by residents not 
living in the subdivision. Those living in the subdivision feel that the 
town should provide therefore provide services (plowing and pothole repair). 
Anyone dealt with this issue?

Be Well,

Richard Clark, Town of Dudley Planning Board

Sent from my iPhone

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