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Residents ask Exeter Council to seek injunction after neighbor clears town 'paper road'
Summary
Multiple Rolling Hills residents told the Exeter Town Council that a property owner has cleared and is using a town 'paper road' as a private driveway and urged the council to seek an injunction after a town cease-and-desist order.
Dozens of Exeter residents urged the Town Council on Monday to seek a court injunction after a neighbor cleared trees and deposited gravel on a paper road at the end of State Drive, which residents say is town property.
Speakers described repeated truck traffic, gravel deliveries and a newly installed mailbox bearing the owner’s name on the cleared path. Multiple residents said the town issued a cease-and-desist order on April 4 but that activity continued afterward.
The comments came during the public-comment portion the council moved earlier on the agenda. John Nelson, who identified himself as a Rolling Hills resident, said the work began after a court stay elapsed and that the owner, identified in public comment as Asa Davis, “does not meet the prerequisites for adverse possession,” because aerial photos show the land remained untouched until February 2018. Kane Stryker said the parcel’s official address is Tenrod Road, not State Drive, and that town GIS records show the paper road belongs to the town. Several other residents — including Jackie Veers, Martina Goligian and Michael Paris — described safety and family disruptions from construction traffic and requested immediate legal action to stop further work.
Residents pressed the council to pursue an injunction through superior court and to enforce the town’s earlier orders, saying the matter is already in litigation. Council members did not announce a new formal action at the meeting; the comments were recorded as public input for council consideration.
The statements repeatedly referenced Rhode Island’s adverse-possession statutory period of 10 years; residents argued the clearing in 2018 interrupted any claim. Speakers supplied the council with neighborhood drawings and said many neighbors have been named as parties in the suit, and some have incurred personal legal costs.
Council members acknowledged the comments on the record and indicated the matter would be addressed through the town’s legal and enforcement channels, but they did not vote on a motion at the meeting.
The council’s next regular meeting agenda lists related land-use and legal items; residents said they expect follow-up in writing or at a future session.
