Connecticut Right-of-Way Framework
Assertion of Private Easement and Access Rights
The Indigenous Nation of Onegodia (INO) is documenting and preserving the legal position that qualifying property interests associated with the Pequot Street corridor may receive the protections provided by Connecticut General Statutes § 13a-55.
Municipal Effect
What the Statutory Right Means for the Municipality
When a highway has legally been discontinued or abandoned, the public right of passage and municipal road-maintenance obligations may end. That action does not necessarily extinguish a qualifying abutting property owner’s separate private right-of-way under C.G.S. § 13a-55.
Municipal discontinuance, map alteration, sale, redevelopment, or physical obstruction should be reviewed against recorded title, statutory rights, surveys, and the rights of qualifying abutting property owners.
- The public highway status and a private access right are legally distinct.
- Removal from a map does not, by itself, adjudicate title or extinguish an easement.
- Municipal action remains subject to recorded property interests and applicable law.
- A disputed obstruction may support a request for judicial relief when the legal requirements are proven.
Property-Owner Effect
What the Statutory Right May Mean for a Qualifying Abutting Owner
C.G.S. § 13a-55 states that owners of property bounding a discontinued or abandoned highway shall have a right-of-way over that highway, for purposes for which a public highway may be used, to the nearest or most accessible highway, unless the statutory limited-access-highway exception applies.
The claimant must establish the relevant ownership, abutting status, highway location, discontinuance or abandonment, route of access, and absence of an applicable statutory exception.
- Potential preservation of lawful ingress and egress.
- Potential use of the former highway for legally permitted highway-related purposes.
- Protection of access-related property value when the right is legally established.
- Possible responsibility for maintenance, repair, snow removal, insurance, and safe use.
Public Boundary and Mapping Notice
Pequot Street Corridor Preservation Position
This notice records INO’s preservation and legal-review position. It does not independently create an easement, establish ownership, determine the corridor’s precise boundaries, or substitute for a deed, title examination, professional survey, municipal proceeding, legal opinion, or court order.
Direct Impact Summary
| Scenario | Public Highway Effect | Potential Private Right Under § 13a-55 |
|---|---|---|
| Lawful discontinuance or abandonment | Public passage and municipal maintenance may terminate. | A qualifying abutting owner retains the statutory right-of-way described by the statute. |
| Removal from digital or commercial maps | The corridor may no longer appear in a navigation or mapping database. | Mapping treatment alone does not determine recorded title or extinguish an established legal right. |
| Physical obstruction or redevelopment | The former roadway may be treated as inactive or available for another use. | A proven easement holder may seek declaratory, injunctive, or other appropriate relief through the Superior Court. |
| Private use after discontinuance | The municipality may no longer repair, plow, regulate, or operate the segment as an active public street. | Benefited owners may need agreements addressing maintenance, repair, cost allocation, insurance, and safe access. |
Easement and Boundary Map Placeholder
Insert an attorney- and surveyor-reviewed map showing Pequot Street, abutting parcels, the claimed access route, Market Street, the Reverend Moody Overpass, and the nearest accessible public highway.
Recommended dimensions: 1600 × 1200 pixels
Legal and Mapping Presentation Video
Add a recorded presentation explaining the project history, municipal maps, land records, survey evidence, redevelopment vision, and the legal basis claimed by the project.
Replace with:
Submit Access, Mapping, Survey, or Title Information
Municipal officials, title examiners, surveyors, property owners, historians, utilities, and development professionals may submit relevant documents concerning Pequot Street and the surrounding parcels.