Title 30, Title 30: Public Service

§ 2505. Location near residence When a person objects to the erection of a line of wires along a street or highway in front of his or her residence, he or she may apply to the Transportation Board or the selectboard of the town, who, upon notice and hearing, as provided in sectio…

§ 2506. Trees not to be injured; exception; penalty A tree within a street or highway shall not be cut or injured in constructing, maintaining, or repairing a line of wires, without the written consent of the adjoining owner or occupant, unless the Transportation Board or the sel…

§ 2507. Poles A person or corporation owning or operating a line of wires in a city or village shall cause the poles upon which the wires are strung to be kept suitably painted, to the satisfaction of the aldermen of such city or the trustees of such village, if incorporated, and…

§ 2508. Penalty A person or corporation that neglects or refuses, after 20 days’ notice in writing given by the Transportation Board, a selectboard member, alderman, or trustee, to paint such poles or substitute straight poles for crooked ones, as provided in section 2507 of this…

§ 2509. Selectboard’s powers; expense The Agency of Transportation, selectboard, aldermen, or trustees may cause such poles to be painted, and may substitute straight poles in place of crooked ones, and may recover the expense thereof in an action on this statute, in the name of …

§ 2510. Cemeteries The owner or operator of a line of wires shall maintain straight and painted poles upon which such wires are strung, whenever the same pass in front of or along a cemetery, to the satisfaction of the cemetery trustees, or the Transportation Board, or the select…

§ 2511. Damages; appraisal; payment When, in the erection of a line of wires, the owner or occupant of lands or tenements sustains or is likely to sustain damages thereby, the Transportation Board or the selectboard of the town, upon notice to parties interested, shall appraise s…

§ 2512. Appeal; proceedings When either party is dissatisfied with such appraisal of damages, the party may apply to the Superior Court by petition in the same manner as is provided for a person dissatisfied with the compensation for damages for the laying out or altering of high…

§ 2513. Lines along railroad tracks; wireless and other telecommunications facilities (a) A company subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission may erect and maintain its telecommunications or electric transmission and distribution lines and facilities along the …

§ 2514. Line to remain property of company A line erected as authorized in section 2513 of this title shall remain the property of such telegraph, telephone, or electric light company, and shall not pass by sale, transfer, or mortgage made by the railroad corporation, of the land…

§ 2515. Erecting new lines When a person or corporation is about to erect a line of telegraph or telephone wires, in and along a highway within a town, in and along which a line of poles has already been erected by another person or corporation for a similar purpose, the Transpor…

§ 2516. Expenses; repairs The Transportation Board or selectboard shall ascertain, as near as may be, the original cost of erecting such line of poles, and shall direct such person or corporation as they may require to use such poles, to pay the owners of the line already erected…

§ 2517. Notice; copy The Transportation Board or selectboard shall give written notice to the proprietors of both the old and new lines of all their requirements in the premises, and shall also lodge a copy of the notice in the town clerk’s office, and its decision shall be final…

§ 2518. Restriction of right to move poles; action The proprietors of a line of poles so required to be used by another person or corporation shall not take down or alter the position of such poles without obtaining permission of all parties who may have acquired a right to use t…

§ 2519. No prescriptive rights Enjoyment of any length of time of the privilege of maintaining a line of telegraph, telephone, or electric wires, poles, conduits, or other apparatus upon or over the buildings or lands of other persons shall not give a right to the continued enjoy…

§ 2520. Town lines For their own use, towns may construct telegraph, telephone, and electric lines upon and along the highways and public roads within their limits, subject to the provisions of this chapter so far as the same are applicable.

§ 2521. Private lines The Transportation Board or selectboard may authorize persons, upon such terms as it prescribes and subject to the provisions of this chapter so far as applicable, to construct for private use such lines along the highways of the town. (Amended 1989, No. 246…

§ 2522. Transportation Board or selectboard’s control; town’s rights After the erection of such line, the posts and structures thereof within the highways shall be subject to the regulation and control of the Transportation Board or selectboard, which may at any time require alte…

§ 2523. Court may permit line to be attached to standing poles Persons desiring to attach a telephone line to poles of a telegraph company may petition the Superior Court of the county in which such line of poles or part thereof is situated, for permission so to do. The court sha…

§ 2524. Court may enforce order When, in such cause, it is finally adjudged that the petitioner may attach his or her line to the poles of the telegraph company, if such company hinders or obstructs such use, the compensation decreed to it having been paid or tendered, the court …

§ 2525. Attachment of wires Telephone wires attached to poles of a telegraph company under the provisions of sections 2523 and 2524 of this title shall be attached and maintained so as not to interfere with the wires already thereon.

§ 2526. Fees of certain officers When the selectboard members or other officers are called upon to act under the provisions of this chapter, each shall receive his or her necessary expenses and $2.00 a day, to be paid by the party erecting the line of wires or other appurtenances…

§ 2527. Penalties; injuries to trees A person or corporation maintaining or operating a line of wires, that cuts down, mutilates, or injures the trees standing upon the lands of another, or a person or corporation that affixes or causes to be affixed to the property of another, a…

§ 2528. Injuries to line A person who willfully or intentionally injures a wire, post, or other fixture erected or maintained in pursuance of this chapter, or who willfully interferes with the working of the same, or who aids or assists in such offense, shall forfeit to the owner…

§ 2529. Loitering upon telephone property; penalty A person who without right loiters or remains in a telephone central office, a public telephone pay station, or the approaches to it, after being requested to leave by a railroad police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable…

§ 2530. Telephones in public areas The selectboard of a town, or the Agency of Transportation in the case of State highways, may, upon written application and after notice to adjacent landowners, permit the construction, erection, and maintenance of public telephones, telephone b…