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Planning Board gives conditional approval to lot-line adjustment; deed must protect shared access
Summary
The Planning Board granted conditional approval to Case P23-20, a lot-line adjustment, requiring the applicants to produce deed language that protects neighboring lots’ access (a right-of-way/easement) and to have that language approved by the town attorney before signatures and recording.
The Planning Board conditionally approved the lot-line adjustment in Case P23-20 on a vote of the board, requiring the applicants to provide deed language ensuring legal access for neighboring lots and to obtain town-attorney approval before recording.
The board discussed an easement/right-of-way question that had arisen from decades-old subdivision documents and inconsistent deed language. Multiple board members said the key condition for approval is that the applicant’s deed must guarantee the travel rights necessary for the lots that abut the road, and that the town attorney sign off on the wording.
Applicant representatives said they would have their lawyer draft the deed and work with town counsel to arrive at wording that protects both the applicants and the neighbors. "I will have my lawyer draft up the deed," one applicant said; the board required that the town attorney approve that deed language before final signatures.
Votes and motions: Board members moved to accept the additional drawings submitted that evening and to continue the case; the motion to accept the drawings was seconded and carried by voice vote. Later the board moved for conditional approval of the lot-line adjustment, with the condition that the ownership status of the quoted right-of-way easement be determined and that a new deed for the resulting Lot 25-13 be approved by the town attorney prior to recording. The motion was seconded and approved; a member abstained from the final vote.
Why it matters: The board framed the condition as a way to protect existing property owners who rely on access across the parent parcel. Board members said resolving the precise legal status of the road and any easements is necessary so future property owners cannot be denied access, and so the town does not create an unintended permanent encumbrance on land that might later shift if a road is relocated.
Next steps: The applicant must present deed language that ensures perpetual access appropriate to the other lots and supply that language to the town attorney for review and approval before the Planning Board will sign the final plan for recording. The board also denied one requested waiver (the transcript notes one waiver had been denied earlier in the process) and left other standard conditions in place.
Ending: The board closed the public session and made the conditional-approval motion; the applicant was told to return with deed language and town-attorney approval before the plan can be recorded.
