2012 Wyoming Statutes
TITLE 24 - HIGHWAYS
CHAPTER 9 - ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIVATE ROADS
24-9-101. Petition; initial hearing; appointment of viewers and appraisers; bond; rules; certification to district court.

(a) Any person whose land has no outlet to, nor connection with a public road, may file an application in writing with the board of county commissioners in the county where his land is located for a private road leading from his land to some convenient public road. The application shall contain the following information:

(i) The legal description of the land owned by the applicant to which access is sought and a statement that the land is located within the county;

(ii) A specific statement as to why the land has no legally enforceable access, other than a waterway, and whether the land is surrounded on all sides by land owned by another person or persons or a natural or man-made barrier making access unreasonably costly;

(iii) A description of the applicant's efforts to purchase a legally enforceable access to a public road;

(iv) A description sufficient to identify the general location of any access routes proposed by the applicant;

(v) The legal description and the names and addresses of the affected parties of all land over which any proposed access routes would cross. Affected parties includes the owners of record, owners of recorded easements and rights of way and any lessee, mortgagee or occupant of the land over which any proposed road would cross and may include the state of Wyoming; and

(vi) A statement as to whether any actions of the applicant or any person with the consent and knowledge of the applicant, caused the applicant's land to lose or to not have any legally enforceable access.

(b) Within ten (10) days after filing an application with the board, the applicant shall give notice in writing by certified mail, with return receipt, to the affected parties of all lands over which any private road is applied for, of his pending application for a private road. The notice shall include a complete copy of the original application and any amendments thereto. Each affected party receiving notice under this subsection shall, within forty-five (45) days of receiving notice, provide written notice by certified mail with return receipt requested, to the board and the applicant of the location and description, in the manner described in paragraphs (a)(iv) and (v) of this section, of any alternate routes proposed by the affected party.

(c) The board shall review the application within eighty-five (85) days of its receipt and if the board finds the application contains the information required by subsection (a) of this section and notice has been provided in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, it shall schedule a hearing to determine whether the applicant has no legally enforceable access to his land. The hearing shall be scheduled not sooner than one hundred forty-five (145) days after the filing of the application with the board.

(d) If the applicant has had access to his land and that access is being denied or restricted, the board of county commissioners may grant temporary access to the applicant over a route identified by the board until the application has been processed and finalized.

(e) After the board has scheduled a hearing date under subsection (c) of this section, the applicant shall give written notice of the date, time and place of the hearing on the application, by certified mail with return receipt, to all affected parties named in the original application, all landowners affected by any alternative routes proposed as provided in subsection (b) of this section and any other landowners the board believes may be affected by the application or by any alternative route which may be considered by the board. The written notice shall include a copy of the original application and any amendments thereto and shall be provided at least forty-five (45) days prior to the pending hearing. If any affected party, including any landowner affected by any alternative route proposed as provided in subsection (b) of this section, is a nonresident, and there is no resident agent upon which personal service can be had, then the notice may be published once a week for three (3) weeks in a newspaper published in the county. The first publication shall be at least forty-five (45) days prior to the hearing.

(f) The board may assess to the applicant costs for acting on the application under this section and W.S. 24-9-103 and require the applicant to file a bond to pay for those costs.

(g) All affected parties having an interest in the lands through which the proposed road or any alternative road may pass may appear at the hearing and be heard by the board as to the necessity of the road and all matters pertaining thereto.

(h) If at the completion of the hearing the board finds that the applicant has satisfied the requirements of this section and access is necessary because the applicant has no legally enforceable access, the board shall within thirty (30) days of the completion of the hearing enter its order so finding and certify the application directly to the district court unless the board elects to retain jurisdiction. If the application is certified the court shall proceed as provided in subsection (m) of this section. If the board elects to retain jurisdiction it shall proceed with the application as provided in this subsection, subsections (j) through (k) of this section and W.S. 24-9-103. The board shall appoint three (3) disinterested freeholders and electors of the county, as viewers and appraisers. Before entering upon their duties the viewers shall take and subscribe to an oath that they will faithfully and impartially perform their duties under their appointment as viewers and appraisers. The board shall cause an order to be issued directing them to meet on a day named in the order on the proposed road, and view and appraise any damages and make a recommendation to the board. Prior to meeting on-site to view the proposed road, the viewers shall give notice in writing to the applicant and affected parties of the lands through which the proposed road or any alternative road may pass, of the time and place where the viewers will meet, at least ten (10) days before viewing the road, at which time and place all persons interested may appear and be heard by the viewers. The viewers and appraisers shall then proceed to locate and mark out a private road and alternative routes as they deem appropriate, provided the location of the road shall not be marked out to cross the lands of any affected party who was not given notice under subsection (e) of this section. The viewers and appraisers shall recommend the most reasonable and convenient route, provided that access shall be along section and boundary lines whenever practical. The viewers and appraisers may recommend specific conditions that the board place on the road as the board deems necessary, including provisions for maintenance and limitations on the amount and type of use. The proposed road shall not exceed thirty (30) feet in width from a certain point on the land of the applicant to some certain point on the public road, and shall be located so as to do the least possible damage to the lands through which the private road is located. The viewers and appraisers shall also appraise any damages sustained by the owner over which the road is to be established and make full and true returns, with a plat of the road to the board of county commissioners. The viewers and appraisers shall also determine whether or not any gates or cattleguards shall be placed at proper points on the road, and appraise any damages in accordance with that determination.

(j) In determining any damages to be suffered by the owner or owners of the lands through which the access shall be provided, the viewers and appraisers shall appraise the value of the property before and after the road is in place. Damages also may include reasonable compensation for any improvements on the lands over which any private road is to be granted which were not paid for and will be used by the applicant.

(k) All hearings conducted by the board of county commissioners under this section and W.S. 24-9-103 shall be held in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, as it applies to a contested case. The board shall enforce the provisions of this article in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

(m) If the board certifies the application directly to the district court the board shall within twenty (20) days of entering its order send notice of the certification in writing to the clerk of the district court and to all affected parties having an interest in the lands through which the proposed road or any alternative road may pass. The certification shall be filed as a civil action in district court upon payment of a filing fee by the applicant as provided in W.S. 5-3-206(a)(i). The certification shall be an interlocutory decision by the board. The certification and order finding necessity shall not be subject to appellate nor de novo review by the district court. The court shall proceed with the matter in the manner provided in and consistent with subsections (h) and (j) of this section and W.S. 24-9-103, except that the case shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of civil procedure, the court shall act in place of the board of county commissioners, and the provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act shall not apply. Entry of a final order by the court shall constitute a final decision of the board under the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and the Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure and a final order of the court under the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure and the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.