Rock Easement

[Jay Wright]

I'm doing a proposal for someone who thinks the neighbor is encroaching with a deck they are constructing.
There is a 25-30 strip inside the neighbor's property that calls for a Rock Easement, this is where the new deck is.
There are several Rock Easements on the Tract Map. Map is 50 years old.

No mention of what a Rock Easement is in the Owner's Statement, or anywhere else on the map that I have been able to find.

I was told that the prelim of one of the burdened properties call for an easement "as shown on said map"

Do you think this is for the exclusive use of Ozzy Osbourne?

I'm thinking of refusing the project if it means I have to get a prelim on all of the properties burdened in order to maybe get an explanation of what this easement entails....OR just find out if the deck is over the line and punt on the easement issue.

If the purpose of the easement remains undefined of record does the easement exist?

Has anyone dealt with this issue before?

Thank you
Jay

[VANCE]

I wounder if it's for a quarry to build the subdivision roads.

[Jay Wright]

No this is a 30ish by 100 strip not connected to any of the other Rock easements which are generally smaller and not connected to each other.
There are some big stones in these places, I imagine that maybe the easement was to leave them in place?not build over them?

[mpallamary]

I ran into a similar situation years ago and what I did was inspected every one of these easements to see how they were being used as well as how people viewed them. On a similar note, these can be as an environmental preserve as part of an open space network. How old is the map? Is there a tentative map? Were there any conditions that required these set asides? Are they commonly found in this neighborhood? Who do they benefit?

[dedkad]

An easement has the ability to address whether or not someone has the right to come onto somebody else's property and use it for a certain purpose, but in this case it wouldn't address the bigger issue of a building code violation if the deck is crossing the property line. I would accept the proposal to determine the location of the deck in relation to the property line and then recommend that your client turn over any documentation regarding possible building code violation to the permitting agency for their determination.