An Act to Repeal the Mandate to Perambulate the Municipal Boundary Lines when there is No Boundary Dispute
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0066
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: HEIDRICH, BENNETT, GAGNE-FRIEL, SNOWE-MELLO, TOBIN
Amends: 30-A MRSA §2851

Legislative Document 
No. 66 
H.P.74 
House of Representatives, January 16,2003 
An Act to Repeal the Mandate to Perambulate the Municipal 
Boundary Lines when there is No Boundary Dispute 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative HEIDRICH of Oxford. 
Cosponsored by Senator BENNETT of Oxford and 
'77/~ /J1.1I/ttc~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: GAGNE-FRIEL of Buckfield, SNOWE-MELLO of Poland, TOBIN of 
Windham. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 30·A MRSA §2851, first" as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, 
Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6, c. 9, §2 
and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to read: 
8e~Baa~y If a 
municipality, 
acting through its board of 
municipal officers, formally advises the municipal officers of 
one or more adjoining municipalities that there is a 
dispute 
regarding the location of the boundary or boundaries between the 
municipality and its adjoining municipalities, the boundary lines 
between municipalities ss.a±± must be perambulated 
eBee-~..y--§ 
yea~s to determine whether the boundary location is apparent 
within 
meters, 
except 
as 
provided in 
subsection 
7. 
The 
following procedures apply. 
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §2851, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 
737, Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6, c. 
9, §2 and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to read: 
7. 
Monumentation and record. 
Municipal boundaries do not 
need Be~ tQ be perambulated ffie~e-~~~~~-eBee-~~--~-yea~s 
if: 
A. 
Monuments of granite or other material of comparable 
life and resistance to movement are located at all angle 
points 
and at intervals 
not exceeding 
meters 
along 
straight boundaries, except for water crossings ws.ies. that 
exceed that interval; 
B. 
Monuments have drill holes or punch marks in inserts not 
exceeding one centimeter in diameter, indicating the point 
on the monument to be used as the boundary; and 
C. 
Boundaries are shown to scale on a plan filed at the 
offices of the adjoining municipalities and at the registry 
of deeds of the county, or adjoining counties, in which the 
municipalities are located, and that plan includes: 
(1) 
The 
location 
of 
all 
monuments 
together 
with 
dimensions by which those monuments may be found and 
checked for accuracy; and 
(2) 
A certification by a qualified and registered land 
surveyor that the surveyor has examined the records of 
the legislative action which created that boundary, 
verified the location of the boundary monuments on the 
ground 
and 
finds 
agreement, 
subject 
to 
any 
mlnor 
discrepancies that have been noted on the plan. 
Page l-LR0254(1) 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
repeals 
the 
requirement 
that 
boundary 
lines 
between municipalities be perambulated once every 5 years. 
The 
bill 
requires 
a 
municipality 
to 
perambulate 
the 
municipal 
boundaries only if there is a dispute concerning the municipal 
boundary line. 
Perambulation is not necessary to resolve the 
dispute if the boundary lines are well marked and a survey of the 
boundaries is recorded in the registry of deeds.