Ancient Roads and Trails

Background (from the Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs website – see below for address)

The legal status of so-called “ancient roads” has become increasingly contentious in many Vermont towns. Points of view diverge sharply on the access rights to these hard-to-locate roads. To some, these roads should remain a public asset even though they have not been maintained or used as a road over many decades, even centuries. To others, the town should no longer retain public rights to lands that are not in active use and have been presumed by landowners to be privately held. In response to several controversial lawsuits, coupled with increasing concern from the banking, title insurance, and mortgage industries, the legislature addressed the problem in a manner that it felt represented an equitable compromise between all of the parties involved.

In 2006, the Vermont General Assembly passed H. 701, now Act 178, which establishes a process for towns to determine the legal status of their roads. The Act allows towns the opportunity and incentive to identify and add to their town highway map all town highways and trails that it decides to retain as a public right-of-way. It also establishes a public discontinuance process for roads that a town’s legislative body determines are no longer desired as public rights-of-way. The legislation includes a funding source and grant program to assist towns with research and mapping of town highways.

Unidentified Corridors and Key Dates (pay particular attention to highlighted language)

Act 178 establishes criteria for a new classification of town highways to be known as “unidentified corridors.” By definition, an unidentified corridor is a properly laid out town highway that does not appear on the town highway map as of July 1, 2009, is not otherwise “clearly observable by physical evidence of its use as a highway or trail,” and is not a legal trail.

A town has until July 1, 2009 to add unmapped town highways that are not observable by physical evidence of their use onto their town highway map in order to retain those roads as town highways. After that July 1, 2009 deadline, those unobservable town highways become unidentified corridors. A municipality is not required to maintain an unidentified corridor, and it may be used by the public in a manner consistent with its use within the last ten years. On July 1, 2015, all unidentified corridors (that is, all properly laid-out, but unobservable and unmapped town highways) are automatically discontinued. Between 2009 and 2015, a town may reclassify an unidentified corridor as a class 1, 2, 3, or 4 town highway or a trail, and must follow the current process as contained in statute (19 V.S.A Chapter 7). This process may include landowner compensation. If an unidentified corridor does not appear on a town highway map by July 1, 2015, it will be considered discontinued and will legally belong to the owners of the adjoining lands.

Act 178 also establishes a process whereby a town may discontinue all town highways and trails not on its map. This process of “mass discontinuance” enables towns that are content with their existing highway map to effectively discontinue all roads that do not appear on those maps, provided the legislative body follows the statutory process that includes public notice and public hearing. Voters or landowners may also petition the legislative body to save a highway from discontinuance or request that a highway (or portions thereof) be designated as a trail. This must be done on or before July 1, 2009.

DHCA encourages towns to have public discussions around the future of their town highways and trails. The earlier that municipalities begin their work on researching and mapping unobservable highways, the easier it will be to navigate the process and ensure that potential public resources are not inadvertently discontinued.

Ancient Roads Research Grants

Applications for DHCA’s Ancient Roads Research and Mapping Grant have been mailed to the chair persons of all Vermont Selectboards, Planning Commissions and Conservations Commissions.

Applications and additional resources are available at www.dhca.state.us/planning. Additional resources are listed on the site.