Description
Homeowner denying other neighbors access to a paper street claiming it's their property
also asked...
Q. Issue:
A. Blocked paper street that runs between Dudley & Fitch Hill
A. Blocked paper street that runs between Dudley & Fitch Hill
Q. Description
A. There's a paper street that runs between Dudley & Fitch Hill that is maintained by several of the abutting property owners. One single neighbor has recently constructed a fire pit and seating area on the paper street and subsequently taped off access from either side preventing other neighbors from using the street. They are claiming this portion of the shared road is their property, and that by walking on the street which passes their home, we're considered to be trespassing. It's important to note that the road is used by other neighbors for it's intended purpose; it is a right of way [easement] to several properties, so cars and people pass through regularly.
A. There's a paper street that runs between Dudley & Fitch Hill that is maintained by several of the abutting property owners. One single neighbor has recently constructed a fire pit and seating area on the paper street and subsequently taped off access from either side preventing other neighbors from using the street. They are claiming this portion of the shared road is their property, and that by walking on the street which passes their home, we're considered to be trespassing. It's important to note that the road is used by other neighbors for it's intended purpose; it is a right of way [easement] to several properties, so cars and people pass through regularly.
8 Comments
Guest (Registered User)
Found this. Looks like you might need a lawyer with experience in land court, a land surveyor, and money.
The status of a “way” must be addressed on a case-by-case basis, but in most cases a way that was laid out as a street but never constructed (often referred to as a “paper street” because it shows up on plans but does not appear on the ground to be a street) is not even owned by the Town. Unless they were specifically laid out or accepted as public ways by Town Meeting (or more recently by the Mayor and Council) they were probably created years ago when an owner of a large tract of land divided the land up into lots and streets, then sold off the lots without ever retaining a specific deed to the streets. Many of the streets were constructed and became public ways or were left private ways open to public travel. To resolve the issue of ownership of undeeded private ways, the State Legislature passed laws that essentially say that an undeeded private way is owned to the centerline by the abutters but cannot be altered to prevent it’s use for roadway purposes. The laws pertain to the unconstructed ways as well. So the answer in many cases is that you already own to the center of the street, but you can’t do anything on the property that would prevent it from being used for roadway purposes. The way to eliminate those restrictions on the property is a long and expensive process through the Massachusetts Land Court where the court will require that others with rights to use the land for roadway purposes be identified and that the court be satisfied that they no longer need those rights.
Longwood (Registered User)
An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
In this case, the abutter has blocked off the entire portion of road direction behind their home (meaning they go PASSED the midline of their side onto the opposite side of the road which would belong to the opposite abutter) and they've made the road inaccessible from either side.
It sounds like the only way they'd be allowed to do this is if they had gone through the whole land court process in the past 2.5 years which [in consulting with other neighbors] we're certain they did not.
Guest (Registered User)
Longwood (Registered User)
Trevor Bonilla (Verified Official)
Kathleen Romano (Registered User)
Closed Nick Erickson (Verified Official)
Hello,
The original complaint of blocking access to a paper street is a private property issue and not something that the DPW or the City has the ability to interfere with. Hiring an attorney that specializes in these issues is a good suggestion.
Regarding the comment about Kimball Street, please report this issue with its own ticket. DPW patches the potholes on a regular basis, and is aware that the street needs to be repaved. The street also needs utility work that is not scheduled for several years, and DPW is trying to figure out the most economical way of repairing the roadway so that the City is not throwing money away when the road is dug up again in a few years.
-Nick