Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 82 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1986 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following two paragraphs:

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no municipality shall layout, alter, relocate, or discontinue an existing way at its point of connection, or within five hundred yards of its point of connection, with an adjoining municipality which excludes motor vehicle traffic from the way until and unless (a) the city, town or county initiating such layout, alteration, relocation or discontinuance gives written notice of such action to the chief executive officer of abutting city, town, or county into which the said way extends, and (b) a public hearing is held by the city, town or county initiating such layout, alteration, relocation or discontinuance, public notice of which must be published for each of the two weeks preceding such hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the abutting city, town or county into which the said way extends, and (c) the chief executive officer of such abutting city, town or county concurs in writing, in such layout, alteration, relocation or discontinuance. If within ninety days of the date of such hearing required by this section there is no concurrence by the abutting city, town or county into which the said way extends, the initiating city, town or county may make a written request to the commissioner of the state department of public works to approve of the said layout, alteration, relocation or discontinuance. If the said commissioner so approves, the said layout, alteration, relocation or discontinuance shall take effect and be valid without the concurrence of the abutting city, town or county into which the said way extends.

A city or town may, without complying with the foregoing provisions of this section, exercise the authority granted to it by section thirty-two A.

SECTION 2. Section 2 of chapter 85 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clause 6 and inserting the following two clauses:-

(6) any one-way street sign not placed at an intersection of public ways;

(7) any rule, regulation, order, ordinance or by-law of a city or town which when made or promulgated would exclude motor vehicle travel on any existing way which connects one city or town with another, unless such rule, regulation, order, ordinance or by-law was promulgated in compliance with the following: (a) the rule-making body of the city or town initiating such rule, regulation, order, ordinance or by-law gives written notice of such action to the chief executive officer of the abutting city, town or county into which the said way extends, and (b) a public hearing is held by the city, town or county initiating such alteration, relocation or discontinuance, public notice of which must be published for each of the two weeks preceding such hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the abutting city, town or county into which the said way extends, and (c) after concurrence in writing by the chief executive officer of the abutting city or town into which the said way extends or his designee.

SECTION 3. This act shall not apply to any alteration, relocation or discontinuance of an existing way in a city or town if said municipality has both voted such action by vote of city council, town council or town meeting, and has implemented such action prior to the effective date of this act.