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Access-width debate: 33, 49.5 or 66 feet? Committee weighs emergency access versus landowner burden
Summary
Members debated minimum widths for private access easements — 33 feet, 49.5 feet or 66 feet — with safety and future road-conversion concerns weighed against cost and land-take for landowners.
Committee members engaged in a detailed discussion about appropriate minimum widths for private access easements and town roads. The transcript records arguments that 33-foot easements may be too narrow for modern emergency vehicles, while 66-foot rights-of-way protect future options for conversion to official town roads.
One member said bluntly, "You can't turn a fire truck and, and stuff on 33 feet," arguing that a narrower width could impair emergency response. Other participants noted the state's subdivision requirements often expect a 66-foot right-of-way, with a possible exception to allow 49.5 feet if 66 is impractical.
Speakers sought a compromise approach: require 66 feet where the subdivision standard applies but allow narrower private easements (49.5 feet) in non-subdivision certified survey maps, with the caveat that town boards may have adopted different local standards that would also control. Staff will add clarifying language and references to statutes and town resolutions where appropriate.
