An Act To Implement the Recommendations from the Discontinued and Abandoned Roads Stakeholder Group
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1177
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: SAVIELLO, KESCHL
Amends: 23 MRSA §3026, 23 MRSA §3028

Legislative Document 
No. 1177 
S.P. 414 
In Senate, March 26, 2013 
An Act To Implement the Recommendations from the Discontinued 
and Abandoned Roads Stakeholder Group 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
DAREK M. GRANT 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator SAVIELLO of Franklin. 
Cosponsored by Representative KESCHL of Belgrade. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §3026, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 683, §1, is amended 
to read: 
1.  General procedures.  A municipality may terminate in whole or in part any 
interests held by it for highway purposes.  A municipality may discontinue a town way or 
public easement after the municipal officers have given best practicable notice to all 
abutting property owners and the municipal planning board or office and have filed an 
order of discontinuance with the municipal clerk that specifies the location of the way, 
the names of abutting property owners and the amount of damages, if any, determined by 
the municipal officers to be paid to each abutter.  
Upon approval of the discontinuance order by the legislative body, and unless otherwise 
stated in the order, a public easement shall, in the case of town ways, be retained and all 
remaining interests of the municipality shall pass to the abutting property owners to the 
center of the way  If a legislative body decides to retain a public easement after 
discontinuance of a town way, the legislative body must vote in the affirmative to retain 
the public easement and to assume liability and responsibility for the easement to the 
extent of its intended use.   If the municipality fails to maintain the public easement for 2 
years, the public easement is discontinued and the public’s interest is abolished.  An 
easement must be given to a property owner requiring access to the owner’s property if a 
municipality discontinues a town way and no longer retains an interest in the property.  
Continued use of an existing access may not be precluded unless an equivalent access is 
available.  For purposes of this section, the words "public easement" shall include, 
without limitation, an easement for public utility facilities necessary to provide service. 
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §3026, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
3.  Discontinued or abandoned town way.  Notwithstanding subsection 1, 
beginning January 1, 2016, a town way may not be discontinued or abandoned by a 
municipality unless the municipality decides by an affirmative vote to discontinue or 
abandon the town way. 
Sec. 3.  23 MRSA §3028, as amended by PL 2009, c. 59, §1, is repealed. 
Sec. 4.  Develop list of town ways.  By January 1, 2016, a municipality shall 
prepare a list of all town ways in that municipality the municipality intends to keep in 
repair with public funds pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 23, chapter 304.  If 
by January 1, 2016 a town way is not included on the municipality’s list, the town way is 
discontinued with no public easement.  A municipality shall publish the list on its 
publicly accessible website.  An abutter of the town way has 2 years from the date of the 
publication of the list to file a claim pursuant to Title 23, section 3027-A, subsection 2 
with the legislative body of the municipality. 
SUMMARY 
This bill implements the recommendations of the stakeholder group established by 
the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Resolve 2011, 
chapter 120 to review discontinued and abandoned roads.  This bill provides that if a 
municipality decides to retain a public easement after the municipality discontinues a 
town way, the municipality must vote in the affirmative to retain the public easement and 
that if the municipality fails to maintain the public easement for 2 years, the public 
easement is discontinued and the public’s interest in the easement is abolished.  The bill 
requires that a municipality give an easement to a property owner that requires access to 
the property owner's property if the municipality discontinues a town way.  Current law 
allows a municipality to discontinue a town way by giving notice to all abutting property 
owners and the municipal planning board and filing an order of discontinuance with the 
municipal clerk.  The bill, beginning on January 1, 2016, requires that a municipality 
must vote in order to discontinue a town way.  The bill also requires that by January 1, 
2016 every municipality prepare a list of all municipal town ways that the municipality 
intends to keep in repair with public funds pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
23, chapter 304 and to publish the list on its publicly accessible website.  If a town way 
has not been included on the list by January 1, 2016, the town way is discontinued with 
no public easement and the abutters of the town way have 2 years to file a claim pursuant 
to Title 23, section 3027-A, subsection 2 against the municipality.