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Bill would require property owners to share costs for private easement maintenance based on municipal appraisals, witnesses say
Summary
Representative Shawcross Smith’s House Bill 5182 would allocate maintenance and repair costs for private easements and rights of way among benefited property owners using municipal appraisals as the allocation mechanism; supporters, including local residents, said tying shares to appraised value is fair, while questions remained about whether the
House Bill 5182 would require the cost of maintaining and repairing private easements and rights of way to be shared by owners of benefited properties, with each owner’s share determined by municipal appraisal values. Representative Shawcross Smith introduced the bill and said witnesses would answer specific statutory questions.
Public witnesses, including residents who described concerns about elderly homeowners bearing disproportionate shares, urged the committee to adopt appraisal-based apportionment. One witness asked whether the requirement would force unwilling owners to pay; the sponsor indicated the statute is intended as a "shall" allocation requiring owners to share costs, which raised follow-up questions from members about enforcement and whether a mandatory assessment could compel owners to form an association or seek bank financing.
The committee heard testimony from residents who said appraised-value allocation would be more equitable than subjective measures of benefit. The panel concluded oral testimony and left the bill in committee for further consideration of language clarifying mandatory obligations and enforcement mechanisms.
