How can county become responsible for maintenance of private road when it has been abandoned?
Full Question:
Answer:
The answer may depend on particular facts and circumstances. If the county or local government accepted the existence of the private roads (thus the deeds given by presumably the state to the association), then the land upon which the road sits is the responsibility of its owners. The association may have executed a private road maintenance agreement. A copy of the agreement may be available from the county.
A private road maintenance agreement is often entered into for roads that are are privately maintained, rather than maintained by a public body. For example, the California Civil Code requires the cost of maintenance for privately maintained roads to be shared equitably by the landowners benefiting from those roads. Lacking a formal agreement between landowners, the Code requires an equal share contribution from each landowner. This is enforced through civil action, in other words, by neighbor suing neighbor.
Neighbors in a private road maintenance agreement are responsible for paying the freight and organizing the work. Typical agreements require monthly, quarterly, or annual payments to the treasurer of the private road maintenance or homeowners' association. Maintenance occurs when a majority of participating owners decide it's necessary or according to a pre-approved schedule. Another method for road maintenance involves a combination of annual homeowner payments and county or city maintenance.
The roads have not been abandoned if they are being used. There may be an argument that since the association dissolved more than 20 years ago, that the neighboring property owners now own sections of the road that touch their property by adverse possession. But this would still mean that private property owners are responsible for maintenance.
In Texas, it is possible in more rural areas that the government take ownership of the road.
Please the following statute:
TRANSPORTATION CODE
SUBTITLE D. ROAD LAWS RELATING TO PARTICULAR COUNTIES
CHAPTER 281. ACQUISITION OF PUBLIC INTEREST IN PRIVATE ROAD BY
CERTAIN COUNTIES
§ 281.001. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
applies only to a county with a population of 50,000 or less.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 281.002. ACQUISITION OF PUBLIC INTEREST IN PRIVATE
ROAD. A county may acquire a public interest in a private road only
by:
(1) purchase;
(2) condemnation;
(3) dedication; or
(4) a court's final judgment of adverse possession.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 281.003. DEDICATION. (a) For purposes of this chapter,
a dedication must be:
(1) an explicit voluntary grant of the use of a private
road for public purposes; and
(2) communicated in writing to the commissioners court
of the county in which the real property is located.
(b) An oral dedication or intent to dedicate by overt act is
not sufficient to establish a public interest in a private road
under this chapter.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 281.004. ADVERSE POSSESSION. For purposes of this
chapter, adverse possession is not established by the:
(1) use of a private road by the public with the
permission of the owner; or
(2) maintenance with public funds of a private road in
which a public interest is not recorded.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 281.005. RESOLUTION OF COMMISSIONERS COURT. (a) After
a public interest in a private road is acquired under this chapter,
the commissioners court of the county in which the road is located
shall record by resolution the interest in the records of the court.
(b) The resolution must state:
(1) the date on which the interest was acquired; and
(2) the circumstance by which the interest was
acquired.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 281.006. NOTICE TO OWNER REQUIRED. A commissioners
court may not assert a public interest in a private road acquired
under this chapter until the court:
(1) complies with Section 281.005; and
(2) gives written notice to the owner of the road in
person or by registered mail to the address of the owner shown on
the most recent ad valorem tax roll for the county.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
§ 281.007. CONTEST. A person asserting a right, title,
or interest in a private road in which a public interest is asserted
under this chapter may file suit in a district court in the county
in which the road is located not later than the second anniversary
after the later of:
(1) the date that the resolution required by Section
281.005 is recorded; or
(2) the date the notice required by Section 281.006 is
given to the owner.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.