Bill > H3599

This bill addresses legal provisions for certain Native American Indian lands located in specific regions of Massachusetts (Chappaquiddick, Dudley, Gay Head, Herring Pond, and Mashpee), specifically focusing on land ownership and access rights. The legislation declares that lots created for Native American Indians in these areas, including those resulting from partition of common lands, shall be considered fully owned in fee simple absolute, which means the owners have complete and unrestricted property rights without limitations on selling or transferring the land. If these lots currently lack explicit legal access routes, the bill empowers the superior court to establish forty-foot wide easements over public lands, including lands held by land banks, to provide vehicular access and underground utility routes. In cases where no public lands are available for creating an easement, the superior court can create new forty-foot wide access routes to the nearest public way, ensuring that the newly established easements meet zoning requirements and provide sufficient frontage and infrastructure to support residential development and public safety. This bill essentially seeks to clarify and secure property and access rights for Native American Indian lands in these specific Massachusetts localities.

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https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H3599