Can a New York town put up stop signs on the private roads inside a mobile home park?

Plain-English summary

The Leisure Acres Neighborhood Association in the Town of Lockport wanted the town to put up stop signs inside its mobile home park, where all the roads were private. The Town Attorney asked whether V&T Law § 1660-a, which lets towns regulate traffic on certain private properties, gave the town that authority. The Attorney General's office concluded it did not.

Section 1660-a contains a closed list of the private settings where towns can install stop signs and other traffic-control devices: hospitals, office buildings, places of public assembly, shopping centers, not-for-profit facilities, private apartment-house complexes, fire stations, private condominium complexes, and industrial parks. Mobile home parks are not on the list. Because the V&T Law preempts local regulation of motor vehicle traffic except where the Legislature has delegated authority, and the Legislature has not delegated authority for towns to install traffic-control devices in mobile home parks, the town could not lawfully put up the stop signs.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1998. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Why are mobile home parks treated differently from apartment complexes under this opinion? A: V&T Law § 1660-a's list includes "private apartment house complex," but not mobile home park. The opinion treated the list as a closed enumeration; if the Legislature wanted mobile home parks included, it could have said so.

Q: Could cities and villages regulate traffic on private roads open to public traffic? A: Yes. The footnote noted that Article 39 of the V&T Law (covering cities and villages) allows traffic regulation, including stop signs, on "private roads open to public motor vehicle traffic." Article 41 (towns) does not include that general authority, with one narrow exception under § 1662-a for speed limits on those roads.

Q: Did the opinion decide whether the park owner could post signs? A: No. It answered whether the Town of Lockport could erect stop signs under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1660-a. It did not address owner-posted signs or their enforcement.

Q: What was the People v Grant principle? A: People v Grant, 306 NY 258 (1954), held that the regulation of motor vehicles on the public highways is fully preempted by the State, except where the Legislature has expressly delegated authority to local governments.

Q: What authority did § 1660-a give towns? A: Upon a written request from the owner or person in charge, it allowed town boards to order stop or yield signs in the specific private property categories listed there. The opinion says mobile home parks are not among them.

Background and statutory framework

New York's V&T Law treats the regulation of motor vehicle traffic as a state subject. Section 1604 declares state preemption, and § 1600 prohibits local enactments inconsistent with the V&T Law absent specific delegation. The delegation provisions appear in Articles 39 (cities and villages) and 41 (towns). For towns, § 1660 covers public highways, and § 1660-a covers a defined set of private properties.

Section 1660-a authorized town boards, with the written consent of the property owner, to enact local laws regulating traffic on the listed private properties, including ordering stop signs at entrances or intersections. The list was specific. The opinion read that specificity as a conscious legislative choice and refused to expand it by interpretation. Article 41's exception in § 1662-a allowed towns to set speed limits on private roads open to public traffic, but that exception did not extend to stop signs in mobile home parks.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1600
• N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1604
• N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1660 (town traffic regulation on public highways)
• N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1660-a (town traffic regulation on certain private properties)
• N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1662-a (town speed limits on private roads open to public traffic)

Cases:

• People v Grant, 306 N.Y. 258 (1954) (V&T Law preempts local regulation of motor vehicle traffic absent specific delegation)

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/I_98-28_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW §§ 1640-1643, 1660, 1660-a. The provisions of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1660-a do not extend to mobile home parks; therefore, the Town of Lockport may not erect stop signs within the Leisure Acres Mobile Home Park pursuant to its provisions. June 29, 1998

Edwin J. Shoemaker, Esq.
Town Attorney
Town of Lockport
929 Lincoln Avenue
Lockport, NY 14094

Informal Opinion
No. 98-28

Dear Mr. Shoemaker:
You have requested an opinion regarding whether Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1660-a is applicable to approved mobile home parks within the Town of Lockport. You have informed us that the Leisure Acres Neighborhood Association is seeking to have the Town of Lockport erect stop signs within the Leisure Acres Mobile Home Park. You also informed us that Vehicle and Traffic Law
§ 1660, which governs town regulation of traffic on public highways, is not applicable because all highways within Leisure Acres are private.1 The regulation and use of public highways by motor vehicles is an area that has long been preempted by the State. Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 1600, 1604; People v Grant, 306 NY 258 (1954). Section 1604, which preempts the regulation of motor vehicle traffic on public highways, does not refer to the regulation of traffic on private property. Section 1600 does, however, prohibit local authorities from enacting, without specific

1

We note that Article 39 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, which governs traffic regulation by cities and villages, permits the regulation of traffic, including the erection of stop signs, by cities and villages on "private roads open to public motor vehicle traffic." However, Article 41 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, which governs traffic regulation by towns, does not authorize town regulation of traffic on "private roads open to public motor vehicle traffic," with one exception. That exception is contained in Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1662-a, which permits towns to regulate speed limits on private roads open to public motor vehicle traffic.

2
authorization, ordinances or other local laws that are in conflict with any of the provisions of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1660-a provides limited authority for towns to regulate traffic on specific private property; however, it does not authorize the regulation of traffic within mobile home parks. Section 1660-a provides, in pertinent part, as follows: The town board of any town, with respect to the parking areas and driveways of a hospital, office building or office building complex or place of public assembly, or parking area of a shopping center or the parking areas and driveways of facilities owned or leased by a not-for-profit corporation or the parking area and private streets or roadways of a private apartment house complex, or the parking areas and driveways of a fire station, or private condominium complex, or the parking areas, private streets, roadways or driveways of an industrial park or industrial complex, and pursuant to the written request of either the owner or the person in general charge of the operation and control of such area . . . may, by local law or ordinance:

1. Order stop signs, flashing
   signals or yield signs erected at
   entrance or exit locations to any
   such area or designate any
   intersection in such area as a stop
   intersection or as a yield
   intersection and order like signs
   or signals at one or more entrances
   to such intersection.
   It is clear from the list contained in Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1660-a that the Legislature only intended to permit local regulation of traffic for limited and specific categories of private properties. Mobile home parks are not included in section 1660-a. Therefore, Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1660-a does not provide the Town of Lockport with the authority to erect stop signs within the Leisure Acres Mobile Home Park.

3
We conclude that the provisions of Vehicle and Traffic Law
§ 1660-a do not extend to mobile home parks; therefore, the Town of Lockport may not erect stop signs within the Leisure Acres Mobile Home Park pursuant to its provisions. The Attorney General renders formal opinions only to officers and departments of State government. This perforce is an informal and unofficial expression of the views of this office. Very truly yours,

YVONNE M. HOVE
Assistant Attorney General