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Select Board to pursue archival, legal review on discontinued roads and ownership questions
Summary
Board members reported ongoing archival research, legal consultation and plans to attend NHMA training to clarify the status of discontinued roads and whether prior votes or documentation affected ownership and maintenance obligations; staff will pursue further records and consider working with other boards.
The Canterbury Select Board reported ongoing research into the town’s discontinued roads, citing archival records, legal advice and plans to take the New Hampshire Municipal Association (NHMA) roads course to resolve ambiguities about acceptance, discontinuance and maintenance obligations.
Board members described a layered problem: town maps and historic records show inconsistent sets of roads listed as discontinued, subject to gates, or accepted by the town in different eras. The board said some roads were discontinued before 1950 and others were discontinued later; the town is trying to determine whether prior votes, filings in county records, or changes in state law created divergent statuses.
Select Board members said they have pulled historic maps and are consulting surveyors and NHMA guidance to determine which documents were properly recorded and which rights or obligations remain. They proposed, after clarifying legal status, meeting with the Planning Board, Conservation Commission or other relevant boards to coordinate possible warrant-article actions to clean up maps and records. No immediate action on roads was taken beyond the research plan. Ending
The board will continue archival review, consult with NHMA and legal counsel, and return with a recommended path (including potential joint meetings with other town boards) once the research clarifies which discontinued roads need formal action.
