Two separate questions in there: 1. Can Lincoln build a sidewalk? I don't see why not as long as it is on land Lincoln owns. I think there is room on town-owned land.
2. Can Lincoln take additional land by eminent domain to build something more substantial? There is a rule of law called the "prior public use" doctrine which says land dedicated to a public use may not be diverted to an inconsistent use without consent of the body in charge. Lincoln can't drain the reservoir to build a new school without the consent of Cambridge. A reservoir is a public use and a school on the dry bottom is incompatible. Can Lincoln take an easement across 167 Trapelo Road to build a path for nonmotorized traffic? That I don't know. The path doesn't make the property significantly less suitable for open space around a reservoir. (It's another story if you want to extend the sidewalk across the reservoir itself.) Lincoln could try. Then it's a coin flip. Heads, Cambridge decides it's not worth fighting over. Tails, Cambridge fights to the death to defend its honor. John Carr On Thu, Sep 19, 2024 at 1:41 PM Tim Mangini <[email protected]> wrote: > > My naivete I am sure, but does the town not have some sort of eminent domain > rights to put in a sidewalk? > -- The LincolnTalk mailing list. To post, send mail to [email protected]. Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
