OPINIONS: Don’t let them give away old Rte. 202

by Carrol White
China resident

The people of China, and indeed all citizens of Maine, should be alarmed: the Town of China is considering giving away the abandoned section of Old Route 202 “free and clear” to The Landing, LLC. But here is the truth the town cannot ignore – China does not own this road and therefore has no right to give it away.

Let’s remember the history. In 1994, the Town of China voted to discontinue this section of Route 202. By law, when a town discontinues a road, ownership of the land underneath it reverts to the abutting property owners. In this case, those abutters are The Landing, LLC, on one side and China Lake on the other.

And here’s the key: because China Lake is a Great Pond, its lakebed – including the portion under the old road – belongs not to the town, but to the People of Maine, managed by the Bureau of Parks and Lands. The Town of China is not the landowner here. China Lake is not private land. It is a Great Pond, defined by Title 1, §2 as any natural body of water larger than 10 acres (China Lake is more than 3,800 acres). As Title 12, §1862 states, “All great ponds are public reserved lands,” held in trust for the People of Maine.

At the same time, when the road was discontinued, the town wisely chose to retain a public right-of-way over the roadway. That guarantees residents and visitors may continue to use it. The town has no obligation to maintain the road, but the public’s right to travel it is protected.

So let’s be absolutely clear: the town has no ownership of the old Route 202 strip. It cannot give away what it does not own. Any attempt to hand this property “free and clear” to The Landing, LLC would not only undermine public rights but would also directly contradict the facts of law.

This is not a small matter. If the town proceeds, it sets a dangerous precedent: public easements and public trust lands could be erased by a vote or a handshake deal. That is how public access is quietly lost – not in one grand gesture, but in small, bureaucratic giveaways.

The people of China must act now and attend the special town meeting that is scheduled by the selectmen to be held on Monday August 25, 2025, at 6, p.m., at the town office to vote on this matter. Speak out. Demand that the public easement be respected and protected. Remind town officials that their job is to safeguard the community’s rights, not to dispose of land they do not own.

Old Route 202 belongs, in part, to the abutters – but the right to use it belongs to all of us. The Town of China has no authority to strip away those rights or to hand public trust property to private owners. If we remain silent, we risk losing something that can never be reclaimed. If we stand together, we can ensure that Old Route 202 remains open, public, and protected for generations to come.

The town cannot give away what belongs to the people. It’s time for the people to make that clear. I urge you all to attend the meeting and vote against the actions the town is trying to take. Again, please vote on August 25, 2025, at 6 p.m., at the town office.