Maine § 23 §3031 Public and private rights in proposed, unaccepted ways in subdivisions

Maine Statutes

§ 23 §3031 — Public and private rights in proposed, unaccepted ways in subdivisions

Maine § 23 §3031

Title 23TRANSPORTATION

Part 3LOCAL HIGHWAY LAW

Ch. 304ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY FOR HIGHWAY PURPOSES

This text of Maine § 23 §3031 (Public and private rights in proposed, unaccepted ways in subdivisions) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 23, § 23 §3031 (2026).

Text

1.Public rights. From the date of recording of a subdivision plan in the registry of deeds, the public acquires rights of incipient dedication to public use of the ways laid out on the plan. If a proposed way laid out in the plan is not accepted by the municipality within 20 years from the date of recording of the plan, the public rights in that way terminate.

2.Private rights. A person acquiring title to land shown on a subdivision plan recorded in the registry of deeds acquires a private right-of-way over the ways laid out in the plan. If a proposed, unaccepted way is not constructed within 20 years from the date of recording of the plan, and if the private rights created by the recording of the plan are not constructed and utilized as private rights within that 20-year period, the pri

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1.
Public rights.
From the date of recording of a subdivision plan in the registry of deeds, the public acquires rights of incipient dedication to public use of the ways laid out on the plan. If a proposed way laid out in the plan is not accepted by the municipality within 20 years from the date of recording of the plan, the public rights in that way terminate.
2.
Private rights.
A person acquiring title to land shown on a subdivision plan recorded in the registry of deeds acquires a private right-of-way over the ways laid out in the plan. If a proposed, unaccepted way is not constructed within 20 years from the date of recording of the plan, and if the private rights created by the recording of the plan are not constructed and utilized as private rights within that 20-year period, the private rights-of-way in that way terminate.
3.
Shorter duration of public and private rights; rights of lesser extent.
Notwithstanding subsections 1 and 2, the developer or other person recording a subdivision plan in the registry of deeds may set a shorter duration for the public and private rights established in subsections 1 and 2 than the period provided in those subsections. The developer or other person recording the subdivision plan shall cause the shorter duration to be noted on the face of the subdivision plan.
4.
Fee interest reserved by owner of subdivision.
If the owner of land for which a subdivision is proposed reserves the fee interest in any ways proposed on the subdivision plan, the owner shall place a statement of this reservation in all conveyances by him of land in the subdivision.