Homeowner Brooks Read and his wife, Susannah Kay, have sent "notice of trespass" letters to Concord elected officials and residents this spring, reigniting a dispute over Estabrook Road that has already cost taxpayers roughly $2 million in legal fees and produced three court rulings declaring the unpaved trail public.

Concord Police Capt. Brian Goldman said the department had at least six such notices on file by early July 2026. Police have not charged anyone with trespassing. Read showed The Concord Bridge a copy of a notice he sent to Select Board member Paul Boehm, telling Boehm to stay away from the property or face arrest. Read asserts that individual bans do not violate court orders requiring the trail to remain open.

Town Manager Kerry Lafleur told The Concord Bridge the town is evaluating whether Read's notices violate existing court orders. "There's no winning in this suit," Lafleur said. Asked whether more litigation is coming, she replied that she hopes not.

The Select Board held a closed-door session the week of July 7 with town counsel Mina Makarious to discuss the situation. The board is considering posting additional signs at the trailhead clarifying the public's court-affirmed right to walk there.

Birdseed and a police report

Officers investigated in July 2026 after resident Jeff Young reported that Read threw birdseed toward him near the trailhead. Read told The Bridge he was feeding turkeys and did not throw seeds at Young. Young said he was less concerned about the seeds themselves and more about birds being lured toward his feet.

Young said he had not visited Estabrook Road since the COVID-19 pandemic but returned after a friend spotted his picture on one of Read's roadside signs. Read came outside within minutes, Young said, and began tossing seeds around Young's feet. Young recorded Read on his phone, left, and later filed a police report.

Goldman said as of the week of July 14, police had more follow-up to do but found nothing to suggest criminal activity.

A decade of conflict

The town sued Read and several neighbors in 2017 to affirm public access after a dispute that began over off-leash dogs in the early 2010s. The town won an injunction in 2020 after abutters locked a gate blocking the trail. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Friday, August 15, 2025, that Estabrook Trail is a public walkway.

Read has installed billboards on his property chronicling his legal fight and speakers playing audio clips of public meeting comments, according to The Concord Bridge. Neighbors have also put up cameras and a wooden fence along the trail.

Select Board member Mary Hartman described the trailhead atmosphere as conveying, "Stay out; you're in danger; you're being watched." She said she has concerns about the process by which the town sued its own residents but believes the town made the right choice.

Boehm said the issue is settled and that public access needs to be enforced.

Read estimates he and his neighbors have spent the town's legal costs "many times over" fighting the case. The $2 million town figure was reported by The Concord Bridge in December 2024; the current total may be higher.

The Select Board next meets Monday, July 20, at 6 p.m. No Estabrook item appears on the posted agenda.