[20] It was precisely this kind of unilateral behaviour on the part of the respondent that was to be prevented by the Highway Access Act. This Act provides a mechanism by which all parties may apply to the court so that the case can be decided in civil proceedings, applying the appropriate legal principles, after the court has had an opportunity to establish the applicable factual context. At paragraph 17 of 2008795 Ontario Inc. v. Kilpatrick, 2007 ONCA 586 (CanLII), the Ontario Court of Appeal stated: “The obvious purpose of the court`s approval of closure is to avoid self-help measures and potentially violent clashes between neighbours.” [18] I do not accept the argument made on behalf of the Respondent that the road through the Binczak property is not an access road because there is another access. The restricted road access negotiated by counsel for the plaintiffs is not the kind of absolute, unrestricted access that we have enjoyed for some 48 years across the road that is the subject of this application. Road access, which has been enjoyed for about 48 years, was unrestricted and unobstructed according to the evidence presented to me. On the basis of these factors, I conclude that the road at issue is an access road within the meaning of the Law on Road Access. Since 2009, North Carolina has operated a state re-entry certification system for vehicles and drivers transporting essential goods or helping to restore public services during the state of emergency (GS 166A-19.70).
The Department of Public Safety certifies drivers and vehicles that are eligible for the transportation of essential goods or public service restoration under the National Reintegration Program. A certified vehicle or driver receives a printed or electronic re-entry certificate to facilitate identification by local emergency management and law enforcement. This re-entry certificate gives the driver or vehicle the right to access otherwise restricted areas and applies even if a local curfew or restrictions on entering and exiting an emergency zone apply. State law requires that a vehicle or driver in possession of a valid state certificate of re-entry may enter and exit the restricted area and remain there for as long as necessary for the limited purpose of providing or assisting in the distribution of essential goods or services or assisting in the restoration of public services. Local authorities may determine the permitted entry and exit routes for vehicles or drivers holding a valid state re-entry permit. Even if a county or city exercises its power to close a road during a locally declared state of emergency, it must still allow access to drivers and vehicles that have a valid re-entry certificate (this requirement is set out in the new legal provision authorizing road closures). If road conditions are unsafe, local staff can direct the driver to other routes to access the restricted area. [24] The type of alternative access proposed by the Respondent is also conditional, as it is extremely limited and depends on the prior consent of adjacent owners in the east at each opportunity. Such conditional use of that road cannot be regarded as allowing alternative access to the applicants` land within the meaning of the Law on road access.
IC 8-20-8-6 Copy of petition to adjacent landowners § 6. The petitioner sends a copy of the petition by registered mail to each owner of land adjacent to the road. Added by Acts 1979, P.L.97, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.86-1988, SEC.224. “access road” means a road located on land that is not owned by a municipality and that is not designated and accepted as a public highway or otherwise legally considered to be a public highway used as a motor vehicle access road to one or more parcels; [17] The applicants reply that they have limited access to the “alternative route”. After the respondent blocked the road through his property, counsel for the plaintiffs negotiated an interim access agreement with the plaintiffs` eastern neighbours allowing access to the plaintiff`s property at a pre-agreed date and time. Without prejudice to access to applicants` property, the access agreement shall provide for access to applicants` property only for maintenance, repair and rescue vehicles. When a county or city closes a highway under a locally declared state of emergency, new legislation requires it to notify the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NC DOT) as soon as possible. Most local emergency managers are in close contact with their North Carolina Department of Transportation department in emergency situations, so notification from their local Department of Transportation department meets this requirement. In addition, counties and cities should widely (and regularly) disseminate information on road closures, curfews, and restricted entry and exit, including procedures for returning after an evacuation.
[12] The parties agree on the essential facts. They agree that the road was built around 1968 and that all adjacent owners contributed to the work and costs associated with the creation of the new access road. The parties also agree that, for some 48 years after the construction of the road network in 1968, access to the plaintiffs` property via the Binczak property has always been unimpeded. It is also acknowledged that road maintenance costs were shared by the previous owners of the land in question. It was not until June 2018 that the respondent deemed it appropriate to prevent the use of the access road by installing fencing. The former owner of the complainants` land informed the respondent in writing that the road through the Binczak property was his only access route to his property and that any attempt to close such a road would be subject to prosecution. The power of counties and cities to restrict people`s freedom of movement in public places as part of a local emergency declaration (assuming the power is included in the unit`s local emergency order) has long been interpreted to include road closures, as the agency`s scope includes, in particular, limiting entry and exit into an “emergency zone”. `means the geographical area that is the subject of a local declaration of emergency. GS 166A-19.3(7). In addition, GS 166A-19.31(b)(5) authorizes counties and cities to include in their local emergency ordinances the ability to restrict “other activities or conditions the control of which may reasonably be necessary to maintain order and protect life or property during the state of emergency.” The specific power to restrict entry into and exit from a country of emergency, combined with the Committee`s power to restrict other activities reasonably necessary to maintain law and order and protect life or property, can – and has been – interpreted as including the power to close roads, including those not owned by local authorities. To understand what a private access road is legally, section 1 of the Highway Access Act defines the word “road” as well as the words “access road” as follows: [22] In Kilpatrick, the owner of the land on which the access road passed told users that the annual fee for the use of the access road should be increased from $500 to $2,000 per year. Users of the access road refused to pay the requested amount and the owner closed the access road.
In concluding that a court order was necessary to close the access road, the court held that “neither an unopened right-of-way nor access via the existing access road against payment of a user fee can constitute alternative road access under the law.” As with any violation of restrictions or prohibitions imposed under a local declaration of emergency, violation of a road closure based on a local declaration is punishable as a Class 2 offence (GS 166A-19.31 h), reference GS 14-288.20A). Unauthorized persons who circumvent road closures or otherwise gain access to restricted areas may be summoned by local law enforcement and prosecuted. Counties and cities should consider amending their local emergency ordinances to include the new legal authority to block roads in a locally declared state of emergency. While existing authorizations to impose restrictions and prohibitions under GS 166A-19.31 have been interpreted to include road closures, incorporating the new legal provision into local emergency orders will provide clearer legal authority to do so, thereby strengthening the ability of law enforcement agencies to enforce this restriction and giving prosecutors a clear legal basis to prosecute Violations. Many counties and cities repeat verbatim in their local emergency ordinances the restrictions and prohibitions listed in GS 166A-19.31 (b); Adding the new road closure permit to local emergency regulations can be as simple as adopting the wording of HB971 under the new GS 166A-19.31(b)(1)(e). Counties and cities must indicate whether the sheriff is responsible for exercising the roadblock power.