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Committee authorizes referral to council for discontinuing portions of Gilman and Pushaw roads
Summary
The Infrastructure Committee authorized referral to the full Bangor City Council for public hearings to discontinue portions of Gilman Road and Pushaw Road; the items will proceed to first reading on the council calendar and abutter notice and public meetings will follow.
The Infrastructure Committee on Oct. 20 authorized referring two separate requests to discontinue portions of Gilman Road and Pushaw Road to the full Bangor City Council for first reading and the statutorily required public process.
A staff presenter described the Gilman Road request as prompted by a solar project that encroached on the end of the right of way. The presenter said they contacted the developer and property owner and "they're in favor of it," and requested authorization to begin the city's discontinuance process, which includes a public meeting, advertisement and certified letters to abutters.
For Pushaw Road, staff said property owner John Karnes is pursuing a small or tiny-home development and asked the city to discontinue the very end of the right of way, which currently extends into private property. Staff said they would work with landowners to create a hammerhead turn-around at each discontinued end so plow trucks could push snow and turn around; staff emphasized the recorded right-of-way map and easements would be prepared during the process.
Committee members moved and seconded both referrals; the committee chair confirmed the motions would go to the full council for first reading (Gilman Road) and first reading on Sunday (Pushaw Road) as scheduled in the city calendar. No formal tally was recorded in the committee minutes; staff said the discontinuance process will follow the city's procedures for abutter notice and public hearings.
Why it matters: discontinuing portions of municipal right of way converts those end segments back to private control and may facilitate local development projects, but the process requires formal public notification and legal mapping of easements to preserve municipal access and utility needs.
The committee did not adopt final discontinuances; the items were referred to the full council, which must hold public hearings, notify abutters by certified mail and record any final conveyances.
