Planning Board declines to recommend acceptance of two private streets, asks staff to investigate repairs and enforcement options

The Fall River City Planning Board on March 12 recommended that the City Council not accept two narrow private ways — Birch Street and May Street — as public roads, and directed staff to investigate what repairs or enforcement the city might undertake short of formal acceptance.

The board’s action follows presentations from planning and engineering staff describing both lanes as historic, narrow private ways that do not meet the planning board’s roadway standards and that pose access and parking challenges. The board voted to return both items to the City Council with the recommendation not to accept and with direction to pursue follow-up tasks described below.

The planning staff told the board Birch Street is an unaccepted private way created before 1912, roughly 210 feet long with a 15-foot right-of-way that “does not meet any of the planning board standards for roadway construction,” lacks curbing and sidewalks and provides limited access to two single-family homes, two multifamily units and a restaurant’s rear parking. Staff estimated pavement restoration at about $100,000 and said the narrow width prevents routine DCM trash pickup and makes snow plowing and utility upgrades difficult. Planning staff also noted a recent gas-line replacement with a 9-foot asphalt restoration at the entrance.

On Birch Street the board voted to recommend not to accept the road and to ask staff to: (1) trace records to identify who performed recent sewer work; (2) contact the Division of Community Maintenance (DCM) to determine what temporary repairs it can perform without city acceptance; and (3) pursue interim signage (including a dead-end sign or “private way” plaque) to clarify access. A board member said DCM cannot use state Chapter 90 funds on an unaccepted way, but that the City Council may choose to authorize local funds or a policy to allow repairs on private ways.

May Street, a separate petition, is about 350 feet long with a roughly 18–20-foot pavement width and is in similar condition. Staff reported that DCM plows May Street but staff could not confirm whether municipal trash pickup is provided; in practice occupants bring trash to Cherry or Pine Street. Photographs in the petition show vehicles parking within the paved width and sometimes blocking passage. Several residents and representatives — including Milton Whitman and Tanya Cruz, who identified herself as administrator for First Baptist Church — described frequent parking congestion, occasional blocked access for emergency vehicles and long-term drainage and basement flooding in at least one house.

After discussion the board voted to recommend not to accept May Street as a city street at this time and to encourage residents to exhaust civil remedies first (for example, an attorney’s letter enforcing rights of “pass and repass”), while staff pursues signage and limited DCM patching where feasible. Board members noted that acceptance would transfer maintenance and liability to the city and that a full reconstruction would likely be a low-priority capital project and could take many years to reach the top of the list if accepted.

Both motions are advisory only; the board’s recommendations will be forwarded to the Fall River City Council, which has final authority to accept public ways. Planning staff said they will report back on DCM’s capacity, the identity of any contractors who performed prior work, and options for interim signage and temporary asphalt repairs.

Votes at a glance: The planning board considered both petitions and voted to forward recommendations against acceptance to the City Council for Birch Street and May Street while directing staff follow-up as described above.

Ending: The board’s actions leave open multiple paths: residents may pursue private legal remedies, the board recommended targeted temporary repairs and signage, and the City Council retains the option to accept a way or adopt a policy authorizing repairs on private ways. The staff follow-up requested by the board will inform any future council deliberations.