April 25, 2024 By Carol Britton Meyer

Of Cohasset’s 165 roads, 72 are public  — and 93 private — ways. While the DPW plows all town streets, it does not pave the ones that are private.

Bates Lane resident Tim  Reardon went before the Select Board this week on behalf of his neighborhood asking about the process for gaining acceptance of their street as a public way.

Ten of the 12 Bates Lane households signed a related petition. Residents of the other two were not available to sign it, but Reardon said they, too, support this request.

In response to Reardon’s question as to next steps in the process, Chair Jean Healey Dippold said one option is to submit a citizen’s petition for the November 2024 Special Town Meeting because any such change requires voter approval.

As background, when the Reardons moved to Bates Lane in 1997, they were not aware that it is a private way. “The street was in good condition at the time but has deteriorated since then,” he said. “We’re not on the town’s paving list because it’s a private way, and we’d like to get on that list for the future.”

Reardon acknowledged that there are many needs in town but that this is a priority for Bates Lane residents, who pay taxes at the same rate as residents who live on public ways.

He suggested  as an example that one option might be for Bates Lane residents to pay half of the paving cost — estimated at about $87,000, according to Reardon — through their taxes  — or roughly $7,000 per household — over a 10-year period.

Select Board member Jack Creighton said he sympathized with the neighbors. “This is an issue that keeps bubbling up — it’s not just you,” he said. “There are a lot of unaccepted roads in town.”

‘Let’s find a comprehensive way to address this issue’

Creighton also suggested that the town take a close look at this issue and “find a comprehensive way to address and fund it. This [concern] has come up time and time again, without any kind of consensus. I think it’s time for the town to address all of these [unaccepted] streets.”

Board member Ellen Maher also sympathizes with residents in this situation because she, too, lives on a private way. “It’s in deplorable shape. Some families have no clue that it’s a private way and that the street won’t get paved [by the town]. I agree there should be a study,” she said, noting that she would recuse herself from any future vote on this issue.

Town Manager Chris Senior said the town at one point tried to mandate that realtors disclose to potential buyers if the property they are considering is on a private way but they aren’t allowed to require them to do so. He also noted that some developers don’t build private roads to current standards.

“The board can think about this issue,” Dippold said. “We would be looking at additional costs on top of the current road stabilization fund and [if private ways were accepted], they would need to be brought up to public road standards. . . . This would be a huge undertaking, but it may be the right thing to do at the end of the day.”