Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 23
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 23, § 3021 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026
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As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following words shall have the following meaning.   [PL 1975, c. 711, §8 (NEW).]
1.  Highway purposes.  "Highway purposes" means use as a town way and those things incidental to the laying out, construction, improvement, maintenance, change of location, alignment and drainage of town ways, including the securing of materials therefor; provision for the health, welfare and safety of the public using town ways; provision for parking places, rest areas and preservation of scenic beauty along town ways.  
[PL 1975, c. 711, §8 (NEW).]
1-A.  Municipal legislative body.  "Municipal legislative body" has the same meaning as in Title 30‑A, section 2001, subsection 9.  
[PL 2015, c. 464, §2 (NEW).]
2.  Public easement.  "Public easement" means an easement held by a municipality for purposes of public access to land or water not otherwise connected to a public way, and includes all rights enjoyed by the public with respect to private ways created by statute prior to July 29, 1976. Private ways created pursuant to former sections 3001 and 3004 prior to July 29, 1976 are public easements.  
[PL 2015, c. 464, §3 (AMD).]
3.  Town way.  "Town way" means:  
A. An area or strip of land designated and held by a municipality for the passage and use of the general public by motor vehicle;   [PL 1981, c. 702, Pt. Z, §2 (NEW).]
B. All town or county ways not discontinued or abandoned before July 29, 1976; and   [PL 1981, c. 702, Pt. Z, §2 (NEW).]
C. All state or state aid highways, or both, which shall be classified town ways as of July 1, 1982, or thereafter, pursuant to section 53.   [PL 1981, c. 702, Pt. Z, §2 (NEW).]
[PL 1981, c. 702, Pt. Z, §2 (RPR).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1975, c. 711, §8 (NEW). PL 1981, c. 702, §Z2 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 464, §§2, 3 (AMD).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 19 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1978–2022 · leading case: Fournier v. Elliott, 966 A.2d 410 (Me. 2009).
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Fournier v. Elliott, 966 A.2d 410 (Me. 2009). · cites it 4× “” 23 M.R.S. § 3021(2) (2008). 6 County roads *416 and highways are roads established by a county or the state.”
Franklin Prop. Trust v. Foresite, Inc., 438 A.2d 218 (Me. 1981). · cites it 3× “This new chapter set forth in one of its provisions a set of definitions, 23 M.R.S.A. § 3021, 8 and reenacted the munici *224 pal officers’ power to lay out town ways, 23 M.”
Town of Fayette v. Manter, 528 A.2d 887 (Me. 1987). · cites it 3× “1986) and retained a public easement as that term is defined in 23 M.R.S.A. § 3021 (1980). Although we disagree with the reasoning process employed by the Superior Court in reaching its conclusion, we nevertheless affirm the judgment.”
Darlene F. Edwards v. Cynthia S. Blackman, 2015 ME 165 (Me. 2015). · cites it 2× “of town ways,” 23 M.R.S. § 3021(1) (2014). A dedication for highway purposes must be formally manifested by a writing or subdivision plot plan that describes the property to be dedicated for public use.”
Comber v. Inhabitants of Plantation of Dennistown, 398 A.2d 376 (Me. 1979). “711, repealed sections 3001-3012 of Title 23 and established a new procedure for creation of public ways, now set forth in 23 M.R.S.A. §§ 3021 et seq. Comber argues on appeal that the new statutory sections should govern our disposition of this appeal.”
Town of Kittery v. MacKenzie, 785 A.2d 1251 (Me. 2001). “Although not relevant to the case at bar, section 3021 also defines a town way as: "All town or county ways not discontinued or abandoned before July 29, 1976; and [a]ll state or state aid highways, or both, which shall be classified town ways as of July 1, 1982, or thereafter,…”
Town of Minot v. Starbird, 2012 ME 25 (Me. 2012). “” 23 M.R.S. § 3021(2) (2011). Accordingly, the Board did not err in concluding that the term “right-of-way,” for purposes of the provisions in section 4-501.”
Craig v. Davis, 649 A.2d 1096 (Me. 1994). · cites it 2× “” 23 M.R.SA. § 3021. Because Isthmus Road was discontinued by the County Commissioners of Pis-cataquis County on April 6, 1976, the trial court erred as a matter of law in determining that pursuant to section 3026(1) a public easement was retained.”
Bayberry Cove Child.'s Land Trust v. Town of Steuben, 180 A.3d 119 (Me. 2018). · cites it 5× “Nonetheless, some of the documents issued by the Town did not describe the nature of the interest being taken, and statutes applicable to the taking, see 23 M.R.S. §§ 3021 -3023 (2017), bear on that question.”
Bayberry Cove Child.'s Land Trust v. Town of Steuben, 2018 ME 28 (Me. 2018). · cites it 2× “As a result of the historical changes affecting the road, and consistent with a municipality’s authorization to take property for “highway purposes,” which includes the “alignment” of town ways, see 23 M.R.S. § 3021(1) (2017), the Town decided to align the road’s record…”
Berry v. Toothaker (Me. Super. Ct 2014). · cites it 2× “" Title 23 M.R.S. § 3021 (2) further provides that "[p]rivate ways created pursuant to sections 3001 and 3004 prior to the effective date of the Act are public easements.”
Fedeq Dv004 LLC v. City of Portland (D. Me. 2022). “§ 3101 (referring to 23 M.R.S.A. § 3021 et seq. as setting forth the procedure for eminent domain); 23 2 The relevant statute refers to a property owner’s initiation of a lawsuit to challenge the determination of damages in an exercise of eminent domain as an “appeal to .”
Show all 19 citing cases →
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 23, § 3021(1) — 3 cases
Darlene F. Edwards v. Cynthia S. Blackman, 2015 ME 165 (Me. 2015). “of town ways,” 23 M.R.S. § 3021(1) (2014). A dedication for highway purposes must be formally manifested by a writing or subdivision plot plan that describes the property to be dedicated for public use.”
Bayberry Cove Child.'s Land Trust v. Town of Steuben, 180 A.3d 119 (Me. 2018). “Nonetheless, some of the documents issued by the Town did not describe the nature of the interest being taken, and statutes applicable to the taking, see 23 M.R.S. §§ 3021 -3023 (2017), bear on that question.”
Bayberry Cove Child.'s Land Trust v. Town of Steuben, 2018 ME 28 (Me. 2018). “As a result of the historical changes affecting the road, and consistent with a municipality’s authorization to take property for “highway purposes,” which includes the “alignment” of town ways, see 23 M.R.S. § 3021(1) (2017), the Town decided to align the road’s record…”
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 23, § 3021(2) — 7 cases
Fournier v. Elliott, 966 A.2d 410 (Me. 2009). “” 23 M.R.S. § 3021(2) (2008). 6 County roads *416 and highways are roads established by a county or the state.”
Franklin Prop. Trust v. Foresite, Inc., 438 A.2d 218 (Me. 1981). “This new chapter set forth in one of its provisions a set of definitions, 23 M.R.S.A. § 3021, 8 and reenacted the munici *224 pal officers’ power to lay out town ways, 23 M.”
Town of Minot v. Starbird, 2012 ME 25 (Me. 2012). “” 23 M.R.S. § 3021(2) (2011). Accordingly, the Board did not err in concluding that the term “right-of-way,” for purposes of the provisions in section 4-501.”
Town of Fayette v. Manter, 528 A.2d 887 (Me. 1987). “1986) and retained a public easement as that term is defined in 23 M.R.S.A. § 3021 (1980). Although we disagree with the reasoning process employed by the Superior Court in reaching its conclusion, we nevertheless affirm the judgment.”
Morrow v. Town of Limington (Me. Super. Ct 2008).
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 23, § 3021(3) — 3 cases
Darlene F. Edwards v. Cynthia S. Blackman, 2015 ME 165 (Me. 2015). “of town ways,” 23 M.R.S. § 3021(1) (2014). A dedication for highway purposes must be formally manifested by a writing or subdivision plot plan that describes the property to be dedicated for public use.”
Bayberry Cove Child.'s Land Trust v. Town of Steuben, 180 A.3d 119 (Me. 2018). “Nonetheless, some of the documents issued by the Town did not describe the nature of the interest being taken, and statutes applicable to the taking, see 23 M.R.S. §§ 3021 -3023 (2017), bear on that question.”
Bayberry Cove Child.'s Land Trust v. Town of Steuben, 2018 ME 28 (Me. 2018). “As a result of the historical changes affecting the road, and consistent with a municipality’s authorization to take property for “highway purposes,” which includes the “alignment” of town ways, see 23 M.R.S. § 3021(1) (2017), the Town decided to align the road’s record…”
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 23, § 3021(3)(A) — 1 case
Fournier v. Elliott, 966 A.2d 410 (Me. 2009). “” 23 M.R.S. § 3021(2) (2008). 6 County roads *416 and highways are roads established by a county or the state.”
— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 23, § 3021(3)(B) — 2 cases
Town of Kittery v. MacKenzie, 785 A.2d 1251 (Me. 2001). “Although not relevant to the case at bar, section 3021 also defines a town way as: "All town or county ways not discontinued or abandoned before July 29, 1976; and [a]ll state or state aid highways, or both, which shall be classified town ways as of July 1, 1982, or thereafter,…”
Craig v. Davis, 649 A.2d 1096 (Me. 1994). “” 23 M.R.SA. § 3021. Because Isthmus Road was discontinued by the County Commissioners of Pis-cataquis County on April 6, 1976, the trial court erred as a matter of law in determining that pursuant to section 3026(1) a public easement was retained.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.