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House approves change in how roads become public after court rulings; owners must give clearer notice under HB173
Summary
House Bill 173 clarifies when a road becomes a public highway, responding to recent court rulings. The bill offers two alternative ways to show interruption of public use and passed the House 50–24 after amendment.
The Utah House of Representatives on Feb. 23, 2011, passed House Bill 173, legislation that changes the statutory standard for when a road is considered dedicated to public use and when it is abandoned.
Representative McKiff, the bill sponsor, told colleagues the legislation responds to a 2008 state Supreme Court decision and related case law that had altered how courts determine whether a landowner's acts interrupt public use. McKiff said the court's approach allowed a landowner to claim they 'intended to interrupt' without proof that the public was put on notice, making it difficult for counties or towns to…
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