No street or way, except an old way which contains
all services and where it would be a physical impossibility to comply
strictly with the law, and provided that these requirements are approved
by the Planning Board, shall hereafter be approved by the Planning
Board or laid out, established or accepted by the City of a less width
than 50 feet. All petitions for the relocation, laying out and establishment,
widening, alteration or discontinuance of streets and ways shall be
presented to the City Council which shall, by itself, or by such officer
or officers as it may lawfully designate for the purpose, determine
whether or not the common convenience and necessity require that such
street or way should be relocated, laid out and established, widened,
altered or discontinued.
In case the City Council shall determine that
such street or way should be relocated, laid out and established,
widened, altered or discontinued, it shall cause the measurements
and boundaries of that street or way as proposed to be relocated,
laid out and established, widened, altered or discontinued to be distinctly
marked out on the premises by the City Engineer, and a plan thereof
made by the City Engineer showing the grade and locations of such
alterations, together with a report specifying the manner in which
such relocating, laying out and establishment, widening, altering
or discontinuing shall be completed.
The report specified in the preceding §
222-2 shall state the names of the owners of all lands affected thereby and in anyway subject to sustain damage or receive benefit by the relocating, laying out and establishing, widening, altering or discontinuing of such street or way, together with the amount of damage or benefit proper and reasonable to be awarded to or assessed on each of the owners. The report shall, in addition, in every case be accompanied by an agreement referring thereto, signed by all parties who claim no damage and by all parties who will accept specific damages, with the amounts thereof, and shall include the names of all other parties who decline to release or to state their prospective damages and the names of all parties who, in the judgment of the officer or officers making the report, should be assessed for benefits conferred, together with the estimated amounts thereof.
[Amended 6-21-1977 by Doc. 152; 5-29-1979 by Doc. 88; 12-18-1979 by Doc. 271-C]
A. Before any order for relocating, laying out and establishing
widening, altering or discontinuing any street or way shall be finally
passed by the City Council, a public hearing of the Planning Board
(or City Council when applicable) to consider to relocate, lay out
and establish, widen, alter or discontinue such street or way shall
be held and notice given by publication in newspapers of general circulation
in the City, once in each of two successive weeks, the first publication
to be not less than 14 days before the day of the hearing and by posting
such notice in a conspicuous place in City Hall not less than 14 days
prior to the hearing date. Notice shall be sent by mail, postage prepaid,
to the petitioner and owners of land abutting said street or way not
less than 14 days prior to the hearing date. Said notice shall specify
the time, place and date of the hearing and shall contain the name
of the petitioner, a description of the street or way or other adequate
identification of the location which is the subject of the petition
and the nature of the action requested.
B. The Planning Board shall hold said public hearing
on the petition and make recommendations and shall send copies thereof
to the Council and to the petitioner within 35 days of receipt from
the Council; provided, however, that failure of the Planning Board
to make recommendations within 35 days of receipt by the Board of
the petition should be deemed lack of opposition thereto.
C. After the hearing shall have been held, the Council
may proceed to act upon an order for the relocating, laying out and
establishing, widening, altering or discontinuing of such street or
way. All costs for both Planning Board and City Council public hearing
advertising, notification of abutters and recordings shall be borne
by the petitioner at the time of filing in a sum to be determined
by the City Clerk. (In the event that a balance remains after costs,
it shall be returned to the petitioner). In the case of a petition
for discontinuance of a street or public way, in addition to the above-mentioned
costs, the petitioner shall pay an amount equal to 10% of the amount
of the increase in the assessed value of the resultant land as determined
after the addition of the land area portion of the discontinued street
or public way to the preexisting land area abutting said street or
public way. The City Council, in the event the Council finds that
charging such fee is a hardship, as a part of its hearing on the petition,
may abate part or all of such fee.
[Amended 6-22-2004 by Doc. 85]
D. All petitions for such action filed with the City
Clerk shall be accompanied by a reproducible plan (and 16 copies)
of said street or way, a report including a legal description of and
a listing of abutters to said street or way taken from the most recent
applicable tax list and shall all be prepared, signed and stamped
by a registered land surveyor to the satisfaction of the City Engineer.
Such plan and report, which shall be the complete responsibility of
the petitioner, shall be made available by the City Clerk to both
the Planning Board and City Council prior to their respective public
hearings.
E. The Mayor shall be empowered to petition the City Council for acceptance of any private way which is certified by the Superintendent of Highways to have been in existence and open to public use prior to 1972. Such certification shall waive the necessity of a Planning Board hearing as set forth herein and the necessity of the report as to damages set forth in §
222-3. Such certification shall be deemed to meet the requirements of §
222-1 relative to old ways. A public hearing shall be held by the City Council with notice by publication as set forth in §
222-4A, but notice to owners abutting said street or way shall not be required.
[Added 7-12-1994 by Doc. 108]
F. The Mayor shall be empowered to petition the City Council for acceptance of any public way which is certified by the Superintendent of Highways to be a hazard to public safety. Such certification shall waive the necessity of a Planning Board hearing as set forth in §
222-4A. Such certification shall be deemed to meet the requirements of §
222-1 relative to old ways. A public hearing shall be held by the City Council, with notice by publication as set forth in §
222-4A, but notice to owners abutting said street or way shall not be required.
[Added 10-21-1997 by Doc. 160]
[Added 5-8-1979 by Doc. 88]
In the event that the City Council acts as a
result of a petition filed by a private party or parties, such marking
on the premises, preparation of a plan and a report, including a legal
description shall be the responsibility of the petitioner and shall
be accomplished by a registered land surveyor to the satisfaction
of the City Engineer.
No street or way not shown on any plans approved,
attested and filed according to law in the office of the City Engineer
by the Planning Board shall hereafter be laid out and established
or accepted as a public street or way in the City, unless the sewers
or drains therein or the culverts crossing such streets or way are
constructed in accordance with the directions of or are approved by
the City Engineer in regard to the dimensions, materials and grades
thereof.
Whenever any public street or way shall be laid
out and established, widened, relocated or altered, the City Engineer
shall cause to be placed therein at all angles and curves thereof
and at all intersections of streets and ways therein stone bounds
of granite not less than three feet in length and not less than six
inches square in section, the location of which shall constitute a
part of the record of the layout out and establishment, widening,
relocation or alteration of such street or way.