Bittersweet Lane

In the fall of 2025, the Town received a request to reconsider its decision on accepting Bittersweet Lane as a public road. Bittersweet Lane was constructed as a private road as part of a subdivision off East Orchard Street prior to 2016.

In 2016, the Selectboard held a site visit and public hearing on the matter and decided that there was not a significant enough public interest for the Town to take on maintenance and plowing of the road. The Selectboard told the applicant that as more homes were built on the road, the public interest would increase and that a future Selectboard might want to reconsider. Since that time, seven lots on the subdivision have been sold, according to the applicant. 

Bittersweet Lane is about 500 feet long, plus a hammerhead turn-around at the terminus. It is a two-lane paved road that the Department of Public Works signed off on as being constructed to Town standards. The standard that the board will consider is whether the action is in the public good, public convenience, and public necessity.

The Selectboard intends to perform a site visit on Nov. 18, 2025, and hold public hearing thereafter.