I. Municipalities shall not use the power of eminent domain to establish trails.
II. A class A or B trail may be established by the local legislative body or its designee over any land previously acquired by the municipality, including land acquired by the conservation commission pursuant to N.H. Rev. Stat. § 36-A:4, or town forests established pursuant to N.H. Rev. Stat. § 31:110, unless the establishment of such trail would violate any right or interest reserved or retained by a prior grantor or held by a third party.

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Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 231-A:5

  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • legislative body: shall mean a town meeting, school district meeting, village district meeting, city or town council, mayor and council, mayor and board of aldermen, or, when used to refer to unincorporated towns or unorganized places, or both, the county convention. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:47

III. The local legislative body or its designee may acquire, by dedication and acceptance or by gift, purchase, grant or devise:
(a) Any class A or B trail, subject to such public trail use restrictions as may be imposed by deed by the owner or grantor; or
(b) Any lesser interest in land for trail purposes, including but not limited to a revocable easement, revocable license, lease or easement of finite duration, or conservation restriction, subject to such public trail use restrictions and such reserved rights as may be imposed by or agreed upon with the owner or grantor.
IV. A properly established conservation commission may utilize N.H. Rev. Stat. § 36-A:4 for the acquisition of trails.