[MassHistPres] [External] Re: Public way

[Dennis De Witt]

It has always been my understanding that “public ways" include park lands of all sorts including, playgrounds, conservation areas, (school yards?) and public bodies of water, including “Great Ponds” which I believe is anything over 10 acres and all other navigable waters. 

Note: the definitions below relate to what is deemed a public way with respect to automobile use.

I question whether, for the purposes of 40c, it would really include commercial parking lots or other similar private property open to the public — nor a "private way laid out under authority of statute” — whatever that might be.

Dennis De Witt
Brookline

> On Nov 17, 2025, at 2:02 PM, Ralph Slate via MassHistPres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu> wrote:
> 
> Here is a link from the state website:
> 
> https://www.mass.gov/doc/3280-public-way-gl-c-90-s-1/download
> 
> From this document, a public way is more than just "a street that has been ... accepted as a public way". It includes:
> 
> - any public highway
> - a private way laid out under authority of statute
> - a way dedicated to public use
> - a way under control of park commissioners or body having [similar] powers
> - an area where the general public still has a right of access by motor vehicle. This might include, for example, a parking lot that is adjacent to city hall, or the parking area of a public park
> - a place to which members of the public have access as invitees or licensees, for example shopping centers, roadside fuel stops, parking lots, and restaurant parking lots
> 
> The document is annotated with statutes and legal decisions.
> 
> Ralph Slate
> Springfield, MA
> 
> 
> On 11/17/2025 1:08 PM, Gretchen Schuler via MassHistPres wrote:
>> My apologies - I am the one who said parking lots for town property are public ways - Always counted them as well as public parks, train and MBTA tracks in a town in which I worked as per lawyers on Commission.....In fact most definitions of public ways include parks and parking lots - perhaps there is a definition in MGL that does not?
>> Gretchen Schuler
>> Wayland, MA
>> 
>> On Mon, Nov 17, 2025 at 9:22 AM Barbara Saint Andre <bsaintandre at medwayma.gov <mailto:bsaintandre at medwayma.gov>> wrote:
>>> Note: As of July 1st, 2025, all Town of Medway emails have changed to @medwayma.gov <http://medwayma.gov/>. Please edit your contacts to reflect this change.
>>> 
>>> I would caution that parking lots are not generally public ways.  A public way is a street that has been laid out and accepted as a public way by the Select Board and Town Meeting, or has become a public way by other legal means.  Check with your town clerk or planning board for a list of public ways in your town. 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> Barbara J. Saint Andre
>>> 
>>> Director, Community and Economic Development
>>> 
>>> Town of Medway
>>> 
>>> 155 Village Street
>>> 
>>> Medway, MA 02053
>>> 
>>> (508) 321-4918
>>> 
>>>  
>>> From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu <mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu>> On Behalf Of Gretchen Schuler via MassHistPres
>>> Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 9:28 PM
>>> To: Nancy Dole <nlouisedole at gmail.com <mailto:nlouisedole at gmail.com>>
>>> Cc: MHC Preservation listserv <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu <mailto:masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>>
>>> Subject: [External] Re: [MassHistPres] Public way
>>> 
>>>  
>>> YES, absolutely!  It is a public way.
>>> 
>>> Gretchen Schuler
>>> 
>>> Wayland Historic District Commission
>>> 
>>>  
>>> On Wed, Nov 12, 2025 at 9:10 AM Nancy Dole via MassHistPres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu <mailto:masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Would a structure visible from a town owned parking lot be considered visible from a public way? 
>>> Nancy Dole
>>> West Tisbury HDC
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