Chevy Chase Neighbors Seek to Lay Claim to One of DC's "Paper Roads"
✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.
![](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2021/10/paperrd1200.jpg)
Some homeowners in Chevy Chase are looking to lay claim to a chunk of unimproved land behind their homes. The problem, however, is that this land is also technically a public road.
Moreland Street NW (map) near Rock Creek Park seemingly dead-ends where the pavement runs out, but legally, the street actually continues as a "paper road", or a planned road that was never built. Before Moreland Place was established, the paper road served as a means of access to its adjoining houses, but now all of those houses have direct access from paved roads.
This grassy area abuts eight houses whose owners, if the application is approved, would have the option of accepting their portion of the newly-privatized land. Some already maintain and/or have fenced in the portion of the "road" adjacent to their property.
story continues below
loading...story continues above
Invasive plants like ivy and bamboo grow wild along the paper road and have encroached into people's yards, and there have also been incidents of illegal dumping and littering along the area. Some homeowners have also experienced flooding from water runoff on the paper road, but any infrastructural work to alleviate this flooding cannot be permitted unless the city accepts the responsibility to do so.
"The city doesn't maintain it, they don't acknowledge it, and one of our neighbors called them to try to get the various ivy and a dead tree removed, and I believe they ultimately had to do it themselves because it's landlocked in effect; there's no means the city can readily access it," applicant John Hurvitz explained at a meeting of ANC 3/4G.
Hurvitz also stated that the last time that anyone tried to resolve the paper road portion of the street was in the early 1950s. While the Commission (the precursor to the DC Council) approved striking the designation around that time, it was never recorded on the deed because a neighbor objected.
The ANC voted unanimously earlier this week to support the application; the disposition of the land will eventually go before the DC Council for approval.
See other articles related to: anc 34g, chevy chase, chevy chase dc, paper road
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/chevy-chase-neighbors-seek-to-lay-claim-to-one-of-dcs-paper-roads/18876.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever
![Buying with Friends: What You Should Know](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2010/05/home_value.jpg)
Here are some precautions to take before buying real estate with a buddy.... read »
![$10 Million McLean Home Of Former Nationals Star Stephen Strasburg Finds a Buyer](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/09/resized/VAFX2180246_45_0_image_560x420.jpg)
The six-bedroom home listed for just south of $10 million back in June went under con... read »
![16-Story, 325-Unit Building Pitched For Arlington's Wilson Boulevard](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/09/resized/2500-wilson-1_image_560x420.jpg)
The new project will take the place of an obsolete office building in Courthouse.... read »
![Mayor Bowser Announces First Office-To-Residential Projects To Receive Tax Abatements](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/09/resized/1625-mass-1_image_560x420.jpg)
The three office-to-residential conversion projects have been conditionally awarded t... read »
![500 Apartments, Live/Work Units And A Park: The New Plans Coming To St. Elizabeths](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/09/resized/parcel-6-park_image_560x420.jpg)
The plans for one of the final parcels at DC's St. Elizabeth's East campus are beginn... read »
- Buying with Friends: What You Should Know
- $10 Million McLean Home Of Former Nationals Star Stephen Strasburg Finds a Buyer
- 16-Story, 325-Unit Building Pitched For Arlington's Wilson Boulevard
- Mayor Bowser Announces First Office-To-Residential Projects To Receive Tax Abatements
- 500 Apartments, Live/Work Units And A Park: The New Plans Coming To St. Elizabeths
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro