The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 30: Public Service

Chapter 071: Telecommunications and Electric Wires and Poles Along Highways, Railroad Tracks, and Cemeteries; Transportation Board and Selectboard Role

• § 2501. Town; duties of certain officers

  As used in this chapter, the word “town” includes an incorporated village or city, and the words “telegraph, telephone, and electric lines or wires” include wires or cables used in conjunction with a cable television system as defined in section 501 of this title. Where powers are given to or duties imposed upon the selectboard with reference to a town, the aldermen of a city, or the trustees of a village shall have the same powers and perform like duties in relation to their respective city or village. The powers given or duties imposed by this chapter upon the selectboard shall be exercised and performed by the Agency of Transportation in relation to State highways, except those of a regulatory or quasi-judicial nature, which shall be exercised and performed by the Transportation Board. (Amended 1969, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Feb. 10, 1970; 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 30.)

• § 2502. Lines of wires along highways; wireless telecommunications facilities; broadband facilities construction; restriction

  Lines of telegraph, telephone, and electric wires, as well as two-way wireless telecommunications facilities and broadband facilities, may, subject to the provisions of 19 V.S.A. § 1111, be constructed and maintained by a person or corporation upon or under a highway, in such manner as not to interfere with repairs of such highway or the public convenience in traveling upon or using the same. (Amended 1991, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 13, eff. May 15, 1992; 1995, No. 168 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2007, No. 79, § 9, eff. June 9, 2007.)

• § 2503. Location by Transportation Board or selectboard; notice

  When it is inconvenient or inexpedient to erect such wires, agreeably to section 2502 of this title, the Transportation Board, after soliciting the advice of the Agency of Transportation, or the selectboard of the town shall determine upon application where and in what manner such wires shall be erected, giving notice to parties interested or their agents, and shall certify their decision and cause the same to be recorded in the town clerk’s office, and such decision shall be final. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.) § 31.)

• § 2504. Transportation Board or selectboard may direct and change manner of crossing highway

  The Transportation Board or the selectboard of a town may direct a line of wires to be placed at a greater height or underground where it crosses a street or highway. If a line of wires is erected or maintained upon, under, or across a street or highway, contrary to the direction of the Transportation Board or the selectboard, or is not changed when directed by them, they may remove such line, and recover the expense thereof from the person or corporation using the same in an action on this statute. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 31.)

• § 2505. Location near residence

  When a person objects to the erection of a line of wires along a street or highway in front of his or her residence, he or she may apply to the Transportation Board or the selectboard of the town, who, upon notice and hearing, as provided in section 2503 of this title, shall determine upon what streets or highways the same shall pass, or in what manner, if at all, such objection may be obviated. Such decision shall be final. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 31.)

• § 2506. Trees not to be injured; exception; penalty

  A tree within a street or highway shall not be cut or injured in constructing, maintaining, or repairing a line of wires, without the written consent of the adjoining owner or occupant, unless the Transportation Board or the selectboard of the town in which the tree is situated, after due notice to the parties and upon hearing, shall decide that such cutting or injury is necessary. A person or corporation cutting or injuring such trees shall pay the damages, if any, awarded on such hearing, before cutting or injuring the trees. A person or corporation that violates a provision of this section shall be fined not more than $50.00 nor less than $5.00 for each tree so cut or injured. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 31.)

• § 2507. Poles

  A person or corporation owning or operating a line of wires in a city or village shall cause the poles upon which the wires are strung to be kept suitably painted, to the satisfaction of the aldermen of such city or the trustees of such village, if incorporated, and, if unincorporated, to the satisfaction of the Transportation Board or the selectboard of the town in which such village is situated, and shall substitute straight poles in place of crooked ones. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 31.)

• § 2508. Penalty

  A person or corporation that neglects or refuses, after 20 days’ notice in writing given by the Transportation Board, a selectboard member, alderman, or trustee, to paint such poles or substitute straight poles for crooked ones, as provided in section 2507 of this title, shall forfeit $100.00 to the State, town, city, or village, to be recovered in an action on this statute. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 31.)

• § 2509. Selectboard’s powers; expense

  The Agency of Transportation, selectboard, aldermen, or trustees may cause such poles to be painted, and may substitute straight poles in place of crooked ones, and may recover the expense thereof in an action on this statute, in the name of the State or of such town, city, or village against the person or corporation owning or operating such wires or line of wires. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 31.)

• § 2510. Cemeteries

  The owner or operator of a line of wires shall maintain straight and painted poles upon which such wires are strung, whenever the same pass in front of or along a cemetery, to the satisfaction of the cemetery trustees, or the Transportation Board, or the selectboard of the town, aldermen of the city, or trustees of the village in which such cemetery is located if there are no trustees of such cemetery, and such operator or owner shall substitute straight poles in place of crooked ones. The provisions of sections 2508 and 2509 of this title as to notice, penalty, and procedure, shall apply to and be deemed a part of this section. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 31.)

• § 2511. Damages; appraisal; payment

  When, in the erection of a line of wires, the owner or occupant of lands or tenements sustains or is likely to sustain damages thereby, the Transportation Board or the selectboard of the town, upon notice to parties interested, shall appraise such damages. The same shall be paid before the line is erected, unless petition is made to the Superior Court on the question of damages as provided in section 2512 of this title. (Amended 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 31.)

• § 2512. Appeal; proceedings

  When either party is dissatisfied with such appraisal of damages, the party may apply to the Superior Court by petition in the same manner as is provided for a person dissatisfied with the compensation for damages for the laying out or altering of highway, and similar proceedings shall be had. The line shall not be erected until such cause is finally decided, unless the party erecting the same files with the clerk of the court to which such application is made, before the line is erected, a bond to the other party, with sureties approved by such clerk, conditioned for the payment of such damages and costs as may finally be awarded. (Amended 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 2023, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 394, eff. July 1, 2024.)

• § 2513. Lines along railroad tracks; wireless and other telecommunications facilities

  (a) A company subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission may erect and maintain its telecommunications or electric transmission and distribution lines and facilities along the sides of railroad tracks within the limits of lands owned or held by a railroad on paying reasonable compensation to the railroad. If they cannot agree upon the amount of reasonable compensation, it shall be determined by the Transportation Board which shall ascertain the compensation.

  (b) Wireless telecommunications and broadband facilities may be erected and maintained within the limits of lands owned or held by a railroad in the same manner as other utility facilities.

  (c) For purposes of this section, “broadband” shall have the same definition as in the rules adopted by the Public Utility Commission for purposes of attachment to utility poles. (Amended 1995, No. 168 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 1997, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 26; 2007, No. 79, § 7, eff. June 9, 2007.)

• § 2514. Line to remain property of company

  A line erected as authorized in section 2513 of this title shall remain the property of such telegraph, telephone, or electric light company, and shall not pass by sale, transfer, or mortgage made by the railroad corporation, of the lands upon which the line is erected, nor shall the line be liable to attachment or levy of execution against such railroad corporation.

• § 2515. Erecting new lines

  When a person or corporation is about to erect a line of telegraph or telephone wires, in and along a highway within a town, in and along which a line of poles has already been erected by another person or corporation for a similar purpose, the Transportation Board or selectboard of such town shall have the right to permit and may require the new line to be attached to the poles already standing, as provided in section 2516 of this title. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 32.)

• § 2516. Expenses; repairs

  The Transportation Board or selectboard shall ascertain, as near as may be, the original cost of erecting such line of poles, and shall direct such person or corporation as they may require to use such poles, to pay the owners of the line already erected a fair proportion of such expense, not to exceed one-half the estimated original cost of construction. In no case shall the poles be used until the owners of the new line tender to the original owners of such line of poles the amount so directed. When it is necessary to repair or renew the poles used by two or more persons or corporations, the expense thereof shall be borne equally by the parties using the same. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 32.)

• § 2517. Notice; copy

  The Transportation Board or selectboard shall give written notice to the proprietors of both the old and new lines of all their requirements in the premises, and shall also lodge a copy of the notice in the town clerk’s office, and its decision shall be final. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 32.)

• § 2518. Restriction of right to move poles; action

  The proprietors of a line of poles so required to be used by another person or corporation shall not take down or alter the position of such poles without obtaining permission of all parties who may have acquired a right to use the same, or the permission of the Transportation Board or selectboard. A person or corporation injured by a violation of this section may recover the amount of the injury in an action on this statute. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 32.)

• § 2519. No prescriptive rights

  Enjoyment of any length of time of the privilege of maintaining a line of telegraph, telephone, or electric wires, poles, conduits, or other apparatus upon or over the buildings or lands of other persons shall not give a right to the continued enjoyment of such easement or raise a presumption of a grant thereof.

• § 2520. Town lines

  For their own use, towns may construct telegraph, telephone, and electric lines upon and along the highways and public roads within their limits, subject to the provisions of this chapter so far as the same are applicable.

• § 2521. Private lines

  The Transportation Board or selectboard may authorize persons, upon such terms as it prescribes and subject to the provisions of this chapter so far as applicable, to construct for private use such lines along the highways of the town. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 33.)

• § 2522. Transportation Board or selectboard’s control; town’s rights

  After the erection of such line, the posts and structures thereof within the highways shall be subject to the regulation and control of the Transportation Board or selectboard, which may at any time require alterations in the location or erection of such poles and structures and may order the removal thereof, having first given the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard. The town may attach wires for its own use to such posts and structures under such terms and conditions as it deems just. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 33.)

• § 2523. Court may permit line to be attached to standing poles

  Persons desiring to attach a telephone line to poles of a telegraph company may petition the Superior Court of the county in which such line of poles or part thereof is situated, for permission so to do. The court shall appoint three disinterested persons commissioners to make examination and determine whether the request of the petitioner can be granted without injury to the company owning the poles. If, in their judgment, such permission ought to be given, the commissioners shall so report to the court, and state what, in their opinion, would be a fair annual compensation to be paid for such privilege. The court shall render such judgment thereon as it deems just, or for cause shown may reject the report and appoint new commissioners to reexamine and report. (Amended 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974.)

• § 2524. Court may enforce order

  When, in such cause, it is finally adjudged that the petitioner may attach his or her line to the poles of the telegraph company, if such company hinders or obstructs such use, the compensation decreed to it having been paid or tendered, the court may proceed against it for contempt.

• § 2525. Attachment of wires

  Telephone wires attached to poles of a telegraph company under the provisions of sections 2523 and 2524 of this title shall be attached and maintained so as not to interfere with the wires already thereon.

• § 2526. Fees of certain officers

  When the selectboard members or other officers are called upon to act under the provisions of this chapter, each shall receive his or her necessary expenses and $2.00 a day, to be paid by the party erecting the line of wires or other appurtenances or apparatus.

• § 2527. Penalties; injuries to trees

  A person or corporation maintaining or operating a line of wires, that cuts down, mutilates, or injures the trees standing upon the lands of another, or a person or corporation that affixes or causes to be affixed to the property of another, a post, structure, fixture, wire, or other apparatus for telephonic, telegraphic, or other electrical communication, without first procuring the right to do so by application to and determination of the Transportation Board or the selectboard of the town, agreeably to this chapter, or first obtaining the consent of the owner or lawful agent of the owner of such property, shall be fined not more than $100.00. (Amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 34.)

• § 2528. Injuries to line

  A person who willfully or intentionally injures a wire, post, or other fixture erected or maintained in pursuance of this chapter, or who willfully interferes with the working of the same, or who aids or assists in such offense, shall forfeit to the owner $100.00 to be recovered in an action on this statute and may also be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not more than $500.00, or both. (Amended 1981, No. 223 (Adj. Sess.), § 23.)

• § 2529. Loitering upon telephone property; penalty

  A person who without right loiters or remains in a telephone central office, a public telephone pay station, or the approaches to it, after being requested to leave by a railroad police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, or police officer shall be fined not more than $20.00 nor less than $2.00. (Amended 2023, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 395, eff. July 1, 2024.)

• § 2530. Telephones in public areas

  The selectboard of a town, or the Agency of Transportation in the case of State highways, may, upon written application and after notice to adjacent landowners, permit the construction, erection, and maintenance of public telephones, telephone booths, and appurtenances to them within the limits of public highways, sidewalks, parks, and parking areas when consistent with the public interest under reasonable rules, regulations, and arrangements as it may prescribe. (1961, No. 55, eff. April 4, 1961; amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 35; 2023, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 396, eff. July 1, 2024.)