Laying Out, Altering, Reclassifying, or Discontinuing Highways by Petition to Selectboard

V.S.A. tit. 19, ch. 7, subch. 2

in effect

19 V.S.A. § 708 Petition

708. Petition (a) Persons who are either voters or landowners, and whose number is at least five percent of the voters, in a town, desiring to have a highway laid out, altered, reclassified, or discontinued, may apply by petition in writing to the selectboard for that purpose. A person who is a landowner in a town, desiring to have an unidentified corridor which passes through or abuts his or her land discontinued or altered, may apply in writing to the selectboard for that purpose. The selectboard may also initiate these proceedings on its own motion. (b) A class 4 highway need not be reclassified to class 3 merely because there exists within a town one or more class 3 highways with characteristics similar to the class 4 highway. In considering whether to reclassify a class 4 highway to class 3, consideration may be given as to whether the increased traffic and development potential likely to result from the reclassification is desirable or is in accordance with the town plan. Added 1985, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2005, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.

19 V.S.A. § 709 Notice and hearing

709. Notice and hearing The selectboard shall promptly appoint a time and date both for examining the premises and hearing the persons interested, and give 30 days’ notice to the petitioners, and to persons owning or interested in lands through which the highway may pass or abut, of the time when they will inspect the site and receive testimony. The selectboard shall also give notice to any municipal planning commission in the town, post a copy of the notice in the office of the town clerk, and cause a notice to be published in a local newspaper of general circulation in the area not less than ten days before the time set for the hearing. The notice shall be given by certified mail sent to the official residence of the person(s) required to be notified. Added 1985, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.

19 V.S.A. § 710 Survey or order of discontinuance

710. Survey or order of discontinuance After examining the premises and hearing any interested parties, and if the selectboard judges that the public good, necessity, and convenience of the inhabitants of the municipality require the highway to be laid out, altered, or reclassified as claimed in the petition, it shall cause the highway to be surveyed in accordance with the provisions of section 33 of this title if the highway right-of-way cannot be determined and shall place suitable monuments to properly mark the bounds of the survey. If the selectboard decides to discontinue a highway, the discontinuance shall be in writing setting forth a completed description of the highway. Added 1985, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1993, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 353, eff. July 1, 2022.

19 V.S.A. § 711 Selectboard’s return; recording

711. Selectboard’s return; recording (a) Within 60 days after the examination and hearing, the selectboard shall return the original petition with a report of its findings and of the manner of notifying the parties together with the survey or discontinuance, to the town clerk’s office. The selectboard’s order laying out, altering, reclassifying, or discontinuing the highway, with the survey, shall be recorded by the clerk. (b) As part of the report of findings provided for in subsection (a) of this section, the selectboard may order that the petitioner bear the cost of upgrading a class 4 town highway to the class 3 town highway standards established in subdivision 302(a)(3)(B) of this title. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a town to maintain a class 4 highway or to upgrade a highway from class 4 to class 3. Added 1985, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1991, No. 47, § 2.

19 V.S.A. § 712 Damages paid or tendered

712. Damages paid or tendered When the selectboard determines that a person through whose land the highway passes or abuts is entitled to damages, the town shall pay or tender to him or her damages as the selectboard determines reasonable before the highway is opened. Added 1985, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.

19 V.S.A. § 713 Time for vacating land

713. Time for vacating land When the selectboard lays out or alters a highway, it shall fix in its order the time within which the owner of the lands taken shall remove the owner’s buildings, fences, timber, wood, or trees. Without the consent of the owner, the time shall not be less than two months; but if the lands taken have buildings, the time shall not be less than six months; nor, in either case, until compensation for damages is paid if the sum fixed by the selectboard is accepted or damages are awarded by referees. Notice of the time when the removal shall be made shall be given to the owner and included in the selectboard’s order. An appeal of the damages awarded shall not stay the work contemplated. Added 1985, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 354, eff. July 1, 2022.

19 V.S.A. § 714 Possession after time expires

714. Possession after time expires When a highway is laid out or altered, the selectboard may take possession of the land within the surveyed limits, at any time after the expiration of the time fixed by the selectboard unless appealed to the Superior Court for landowners to remove their buildings, fences, trees, timber, or wood. The selectboard may remove obstructions, and open the lands for working and travel, if the selectboard previously paid or tendered to the landowners the damages awarded by the selectboard or by the commissioners laying out or altering the highway. An appeal of the damages awarded shall not stay the work contemplated. Added 1985, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 355, eff. July 1, 2022.

19 V.S.A. § 717 Evidence of highway completion or discontinuance

717. Evidence of highway completion or discontinuance (a) The lack of a certificate of completion of a highway shall not alone constitute conclusive evidence that a highway is not public. (b) A town or county highway that has not been kept passable for use by the general public for motorized travel at the expense of the municipality for a period of 30 or more consecutive years following a final determination to discontinue the highway shall be presumed to have been effectively discontinued. This presumption of discontinuance may be rebutted by evidence that manifests a clear intent by the municipality or county and the public to consider or use the way as a highway. The presumption of discontinuance shall not be rebutted by evidence that shows isolated acts of maintenance, unless other evidence exists that shows a clear intent by the municipality or county to consider or use the highway as if it were a public right-of-way. (c) A person whose sole means of access to a parcel of land or portion thereof owned by that person is by way of a town highway or unidentified corridor that is subsequently discontinued shall retain a private right-of-way over the former town highway or unidentified corridor for any necessary access to the parcel of land or portion thereof and maintenance of his or her right-of-way. Added 1999, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 25, eff. May 29, 2000; amended 2005, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/19/007Fetched: 10/21/2026