Harpers Ferry council to notify residents, post signs and set removal deadline for paper-street modifications

Acting on a Planning Commission recommendation, the Harpers Ferry Town Council approved a program to notify residents and businesses about private modifications in town rights-of-way and to install signage at intersections of so-called "paper streets."

Council members agreed to include a draft notice in the August–October town newsletters that warns residents that, after a 90-day notice period (targeting Oct. 11, 2026), existing resident and business modifications to paper streets will be considered noncompliant with town regulations and the town will not be responsible for damage to those modifications. The council also approved up to $500 to complete installation of posts and ‘‘Right of Way’’ signs at intersections where paper streets meet town streets, and amended the action to direct the mayor to work with the maintenance department to create an inventory of needed signage and materials.

The planning report described multiple instances in which private materials, plantings or permanent fixtures appear within town rights-of-way and recommended wooden bollards and signage to clarify the boundaries and discourage future encroachments. Council members discussed whether the statement should apply only to paper streets or more broadly to other rights-of-way, and emphasized that any enforcement or removal would follow notice and equitable application across neighborhoods.

The motion to include the draft statement in the newsletter and to fund the sign project passed by unanimous voice vote. Councilors said the tree commission and planning staff will produce more detailed recommendations next month for handling trees and other vegetation found in the right-of-way.

Next steps: the town will finalize the newsletter language, publish the notice in upcoming issues, complete the mayor’s inventory of signs, and begin installing signs at paper-street intersections.