Title 23, Title 23

No property or interests therein may be dedicated for highway purposes unless the owner of such property or interest has filed with the municipal officers a petition, agreement, deed, affidavit or other writing specifically describing the property or interest and its location, an…

A municipality may terminate in whole or in part any interests held by it for highway purposes. A municipality discontinuing a town way or public easement in this State must meet the following requirements. [PL 2015, c. 464, §5 (NEW).] 1. Notification of discontinuance to abuttin…

1. Vacation of ways. When proposed town ways have been described in a recorded subdivision plan and lots have been sold with reference to the plan, the municipal officers, after notice to the municipal planning board or office, may, on their own initiative, on petition of the abu…

1. Recording of vacation order. A copy of the order of vacation by the municipal officers entered under section 3027 shall be recorded in the registry of deeds where the plan of subdivision is recorded and shall contain an alphabetical listing of the names of the subdivision lot …

Beginning October 1, 2021, a town way, or portion thereof, may not be declared discontinued by abandonment unless the municipality or county where the proposed abandoned town way is situated complies with the requirements of this section. A municipality or its officials or a coun…

Damages must be determined using the methods in sections 154 to 154‑E, as far as practicable, except that references to the "commission" or the "board" mean the "municipal officers" and references to the "state" mean the "municipality." [RR 2021, c. 2, Pt. A, §65 (COR).] Any pers…

1. Cause of action. An owner of property abutting a discontinued or abandoned road in which a public easement exists may bring a civil action in Superior Court for damages and injunctive relief against a person who causes damage to the road in a manner that impedes reasonable acc…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to abridge the authority of a municipality to acquire property or interests therein for highway purposes by purchase, or to modify the law relating to acquisition of property by a municipality through prescriptive use.

1. Public rights. From the date of recording of a subdivision plan in the registry of deeds, the public acquires rights of incipient dedication to public use of the ways laid out on the plan. If a proposed way laid out in the plan is not accepted by the municipality within 20 yea…

1. Deemed vacation. 1-A. Deemed vacation. A proposed, unaccepted way or portion of a proposed, unaccepted way laid out on a subdivision plan recorded in the registry of deeds prior to September 29, 1987 is deemed to have been subject to an order of vacation under section 3027 if,…

1. Notice by person claiming ownership. Any person claiming to own a proposed, unaccepted way or portion of a proposed, unaccepted way deemed vacated under section 3032 may record, in the registry of deeds where the subdivision plan, to which the notice set forth in this subsecti…

1. Action to compel removal. When any structure, for 20 years, has been continuously located, in whole or in part, within a proposed, unaccepted way laid out in a subdivision plan recorded in the registry of deeds, and lots have been sold with reference to this plan, no action ma…

Nothing in sections 3031 to 3034 may be construed to extend the period for the bringing of an action or for the doing of any other required act under any statute of limitations. Nothing in those sections may be construed to affect the nature of any right or interest which may be …

The Maine Abandoned and Discontinued Roads Commission, referred to in this section as "the commission," is established by Title 5, section 12004‑I, subsection 83‑A and operates in accordance with this section. [PL 2021, c. 743, §2 (NEW).] 1. Members. The commission consists of th…