Chapter 9 - Establishment Of Private Roads
CHAPTER 9 - ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIVATE ROADS
24-9-101. Petition; initial hearing; appointment of viewers andappraisers; bond; rules; certification to district court.
(a) Any person whose land has no outlet to, nor connection witha public road, may file an application in writing with the board of countycommissioners in the county where his land is located for a private roadleading from his land to some convenient public road. The application shallcontain the following information:
(i) The legal description of the land owned by the applicant towhich access is sought and a statement that the land is located within thecounty;
(ii) A specific statement as to why the land has no legallyenforceable access, other than a waterway, and whether the land is surroundedon all sides by land owned by another person or persons or a natural orman-made barrier making access unreasonably costly;
(iii) A description of the applicant's efforts to purchase alegally enforceable access to a public road;
(iv) A description sufficient to identify the general locationof any access routes proposed by the applicant;
(v) The legal description and the names and addresses of theaffected parties of all land over which any proposed access routes would cross.Affected parties includes the owners of record, owners of recorded easementsand rights of way and any lessee, mortgagee or occupant of the land over whichany proposed road would cross and may include the state of Wyoming; and
(vi) A statement as to whether any actions of the applicant orany person with the consent and knowledge of the applicant, caused theapplicant's land to lose or to not have any legally enforceable access.
(b) Within ten (10) days after filing an application with theboard, the applicant shall give notice in writing by certified mail, withreturn receipt, to the affected parties of all lands over which any privateroad is applied for, of his pending application for a private road. The noticeshall include a complete copy of the original application and any amendmentsthereto.
(c) The board shall review the application within thirty (30)days of its receipt and if the board finds the application contains theinformation required by subsection (a) of this section and notice has beenprovided in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, it shall schedule ahearing to determine whether the applicant has no legally enforceable access tohis land. The hearing shall be scheduled at a date that allows the applicanttime to give all notice required under this section.
(d) If the applicant has had access to his land and that accessis being denied or restricted, the board of county commissioners may granttemporary access to the applicant over a route identified by the board untilthe application has been processed and finalized.
(e) After the board has scheduled a hearing date undersubsection (c) of this section, the applicant shall give written notice of thedate, time and place of the hearing on the application, by certified mail withreturn receipt, to all affected parties named in the original application andany other landowners the board believes may be affected by the application orany alternative route which may be considered by the board or the viewers andappraisers. The written notice shall include a copy of the originalapplication and any amendments thereto and shall be provided at least sixty(60) days prior to the pending hearing. If any affected party is anonresident, and there is no resident agent upon which personal service can behad, then the notice may be published once a week for three (3) weeks in anewspaper published in the county. The first publication shall be at least sixty(60) days prior to the hearing.
(f) The board may assess to the applicant costs for acting onthe application under this section and W.S. 24-9-103 and require the applicantto file a bond to pay for those costs.
(g) All affected parties having an interest in the landsthrough which the proposed road or any alternative road may pass may appear atthe hearing and be heard by the board as to the necessity of the road and allmatters pertaining thereto.
(h) If at the completion of the hearing the board finds thatthe applicant has satisfied the requirements of this section and access isnecessary because the applicant has no legally enforceable access, the boardshall within thirty (30) days of the completion of the hearing enter its orderso finding and certify the application directly to the district court unlessthe board elects to retain jurisdiction. If the application is certified thecourt shall proceed as provided in subsection (m) of this section. If theboard elects to retain jurisdiction it shall proceed with the application asprovided in this subsection, subsections (j) through (k) of this section andW.S. 24-9-103. The board shall appoint three (3) disinterested freeholders andelectors of the county, as viewers and appraisers. Before entering upon theirduties the viewers shall take and subscribe to an oath that they willfaithfully and impartially perform their duties under their appointment asviewers and appraisers. The board shall cause an order to be issued directingthem to meet on a day named in the order on the proposed road, and view andappraise any damages and make a recommendation to the board. Prior to meetingon-site to view the proposed road, the viewers shall give notice in writing tothe applicant and affected parties of the lands through which the proposed roador any alternative road may pass, of the time and place where the viewers willmeet, at least ten (10) days before viewing the road, at which time and placeall persons interested may appear and be heard by the viewers. The viewers andappraisers shall then proceed to locate and mark out a private road andalternative routes as they deem appropriate, provided the location of the roadshall not be marked out to cross the lands of any affected party who was notgiven notice under subsection (e) of this section. The viewers and appraisersshall recommend the most reasonable and convenient route, provided that accessshall be along section and boundary lines whenever practical. The viewers andappraisers may recommend specific conditions that the board place on the roadas the board deems necessary, including provisions for maintenance andlimitations on the amount and type of use. The proposed road shall not exceedthirty (30) feet in width from a certain point on the land of the applicant tosome certain point on the public road, and shall be located so as to do theleast possible damage to the lands through which the private road is located.The viewers and appraisers shall also appraise any damages sustained by the ownerover which the road is to be established and make full and true returns, with aplat of the road to the board of county commissioners. The viewers andappraisers shall also determine whether or not any gates or cattleguards shallbe placed at proper points on the road, and appraise any damages in accordancewith that determination.
(j) In determining any damages to be suffered by the owner orowners of the lands through which the access shall be provided, the viewers andappraisers shall appraise the value of the property before and after the roadis in place. Damages also may include reasonable compensation for anyimprovements on the lands over which any private road is to be granted whichwere not paid for and will be used by the applicant.
(k) All hearings conducted by the board of county commissionersunder this section and W.S. 24-9-103 shall be held in accordance with theWyoming Administrative Procedure Act, as it applies to a contested case. Theboard shall enforce the provisions of this article in accordance with theWyoming Administrative Procedure Act.
(m) If the board certifies the application directly to thedistrict court the board shall within twenty (20) days of entering its ordersend notice of the certification in writing to the clerk of the district courtand to all affected parties having an interest in the lands through which theproposed road or any alternative road may pass. The certification shall befiled as a civil action in district court upon payment of a filing fee by theapplicant as provided in W.S. 5-3-206(a)(i). The certification shall be aninterlocutory decision by the board. The certification and order findingnecessity shall not be subject to appellate nor de novo review by the districtcourt. The court shall proceed with the matter in the manner provided in andconsistent with subsections (h) and (j) of this section and W.S. 24-9-103,except that the case shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of civilprocedure, the court shall act in place of the board of county commissioners,and the provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act shall not apply.Entry of a final order by the court shall constitute a final decision of theboard under the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and the Wyoming Rules ofAppellate Procedure and a final order of the court under the Wyoming Rules ofCivil Procedure and the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.
24-9-102. Repealed By Laws 2000, Ch. 88, 2.
24-9-103. Report of viewers and appraisers; second hearing; order bycommissioners; appeal.
(a) The viewers and appraisers so appointed, or a majority ofthem, shall make a report of their recommendations to the board of countycommissioners at the next regular session, and also the amount of damages, ifany, appraised by them, and the person or persons entitled to such damages.Upon receiving the report of the viewers and appraisers, the board shall hold ahearing after twenty (20) days prior written notice to all affected partieshaving an interest in the lands through which the proposed road or anyalternative road may pass, at which time the affected parties may address thereport. The board may either accept, reject or modify the report andrecommendations. The board shall select the most reasonable and convenientroute for the access, provided that access shall be along section and boundarylines whenever practical. In compliance with the Wyoming AdministrativeProcedure Act, the board shall issue an order specifying the route selected bythe board, any conditions imposed by the board and any damages and costs to bepaid by the applicant.
(b) The applicant and any other person aggrieved by the actionof the board including the amount of any damages awarded, may appeal to thedistrict court at any time within thirty (30) days from the date of the order.
(c) After the board of county commissioners has received proofof payment by the applicant of any damages and costs ordered to be paid, theboard shall cause a certified copy of the order to be filed with the countyclerk declaring the road to be a private road, and citing in the order anyconditions imposed by the board.
(d) In addition to paying any damages to be suffered by theaffected parties having an interest in the land through which the access shallbe provided, the applicant shall be responsible for obtaining and for payingfor any engineering and construction costs incurred concerning the location andconstruction of the road.
(e) If the proposed private road is located in two (2) or morecounties, or if all parties and the board of county commissioners so stipulate,the applicant may bring a private road action in district court in the countywhere any of the affected lands are located.
24-9-104. Water and timber ways.
Uponthe presentation of a petition signed by at least five (5) freeholders of anyneighborhood, praying for passage to any watercourse for the purpose ofwatering livestock, or for the convenient access to timber, the board of countycommissioners may, in their discretion, establish such water or timber way asprovided in W.S. 24-9-101 through 24-9-103 relating to the opening of privateroads.