Mayor of Baltimore v. Broumel

Citations

• 86 Md. 153
• 37 A. 648
• 1897 Md. LEXIS 89

Syllabus

<p>Dedication of Streets—Acceptance of Street by Municipal Authorities —Act of 1888, Chap. 98, Annexing Part of Baltimore County to Baltimore City— Unaccepted Dedication of Streets in the Annexed District—Powers of City Commissioner—Injunction.</p> <p>Where the owner of a tract of land makes a map of it designating lots and streets thereon and sells lots binding on the streets, such dedication does not make the streets public thoroughfares until an acceptance of the same by the municipality.</p> <p>Such acceptance may be shown by deed or other record, or by acts in pais such as opening, grading or keeping the road in repair at the public expense, or by long continued user on the part of the public.</p> <p>The owner of land then situated in Baltimore County made a plat of the same upon which certain streets and avenues were projected. Some of the lots designated on the map were sold and plaintiff became the owner of two of them and of a house erected thereon. There was no marks to indicate where the projected streets ran and the whole property was enclosed by fences. Plaintiff’s house was built partly upon one of the projected streets. The county authorities never accepted this street in any manner nor was the same used by the public. Fourteen years afterwards this part of the county was annexed to Baltimore City and the city acquired jurisdiction, under the Annexation Act, over such streets in the annexed territory as had been condemned, conveyed or dedicated. The City Commissioner notified plaintiff that her house stood in the bed of a street designated as such on said map and ordered its removal. Upon a bill for an injunction, Held,</p> <p>1st. That assuming that the map and the sale of lots worked a dedication of the streets marked thereon, yet the dedication had never been accepted by the county authorities, and the Annexation Act did not convert an unaccepted dedication of a street into, an accepted dedition, making the same a public street to be maintained by