Massachusetts § 81F - Alteration of official map; damages for injuries

§ 81F. Alteration of official map; damages for injuries

Section 81F. A city or town so adopting an official map, by action of its city council or town meeting, may whenever and as often as it may deem it for the public interest, change or add to such map so as to place thereon lines and notations showing existing or proposed locations, not theretofore mapped, of new or widened public ways and new or enlarged parks, and proposed discontinuances in whole or in part of existing or mapped public ways and parks. No such change or addition shall become effective until after a public hearing in relation thereto before the city council or a committee thereof or before the selectmen, at which parties in interest shall have an opportunity to be heard. At least ten days' notice of such a public hearing shall be given by advertisement in an official publication of, or in a newspaper of general circulation in, the city or town and by mailing a copy of such advertisement to all owners of property abutting on such proposed improvement or discontinuance, as appearing upon the most recent tax list. Any way, which is not a public way, appearing on an official map of a city or town may be modified or removed therefrom by the planning board acting in accordance with the procedure set forth in section eighty-one W, so far as apt, provided that there is no objection at a public hearing by any person in interest. No such change or addition which has not been previously recommended by the planning board established under section eighty-one A shall be adopted until after a report thereon by said board, and no variance from a plan prepared or approved by said planning board shall be made except by a two thirds vote of all the members of a city council, or by a two thirds vote of a town meeting; provided, that the last mentioned requirement shall be deemed to be waived in case the matter has been referred to said board for a report and it has failed to report within thirty days thereafter. Any person injured in his property by a change in the official map under this section may recover the damages so caused under chapter seventy-nine.