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Attorney opinion finds Shell Meeting House Road discontinued; town to review six other old roads
Summary
Town staff will review historic records and dates after an attorney’s opinion that Shell Meeting House Road is a discontinued road, and will send written confirmation to the complainant; several other roads that cross town lines will be examined individually.
Canterbury town staff moved on a legal opinion that Shell Meeting House Road is a discontinued town road and will review other suspected discontinued roads individually, the select board heard at its meeting. The board directed staff to compile the evidence the attorney relied on and to send a confirmation letter to the resident who filed the complaint.
The attorney’s analysis, provided to the board and discussed at the meeting, cites laws and records dating to 1928 and concludes Shell Meeting House Road was discontinued under the standards that applied at the time. Town staff said they will apply the same archival review to other roads that cross municipal lines and that lack clear evidence of formal adoption or of required court notification.
Why it matters: A discontinuance can alter the legal status of a road and, depending on how the road was originally formed, may affect whether the land under the roadway reverted to adjacent property owners. Board members and staff said some deeds and tax cards may not reflect the discontinuance, which could lead to title confusion if a property changes hands.
What the board will do next: Staff will prepare a packet of findings for each road under review, showing the dates and documentary evidence the attorney cited, and will return to the select board with recommendations. The board also agreed staff should send a written confirmation to the person who raised the Shell Meeting House question.
Board members and staff stressed the reviews will be done case by case. The board identified a short list of other roads for focused review, including roads that cross town boundaries and those for which the town’s records are sparse. The work will rely on archived maps and registry-of-deeds filings and could take weeks to complete.
Background: The town has no single, definitive public map showing the original layout method for every historic way; maps in town offices and county or regional sources sometimes differ. The select board said the review will include checking original layout documents, registry filings and the dates cited by the attorney.
