Easements

• Drainage Easement

A drainage easement is a legal allowance for water to flow through a specific area of land, ensuring proper runoff and flood prevention. Property owners cannot build or block these areas, as they help manage stormwater and protect surrounding land.

• Utility Easement

A utility easement is a legal right that allows utility companies to access and maintain essential infrastructure like power lines, gas pipes, or water mains on private property. Property owners must keep these areas clear so utilities can perform repairs and upgrades when needed.

• Sanitary Sewer Easement (or HRSD)

A sanitary easement is a designated area of land that allows access to sewer lines or wastewater systems for maintenance and repairs. Property owners must keep these areas clear to ensure proper sanitation and prevent blockages or leaks. 

• Stormwater Management Facility (Impoundment) Easement

Impoundment or Stormwater Management Facility Easements serve the purpose of providing storage, flow, and retention of stormwater. They can be public or private. No alteration of the lake or side slopes within the impoundment easement is allowed.

• Access Easement

An access easement is a legal right that allows someone to use a portion of another person's land to reach their own property. This is common in situations where a driveway, pathway, or road crosses private land to provide entry. The easement ensures continued access while the property owner still retains ownership of the land.

• Temporary Construction Easement

A temporary construction easement allows workers to access private land for a set period to complete construction or maintenance projects. This easement ensures crews have enough space to store equipment, move materials, or carry out work without permanently altering property rights. Once the project is finished, the landowner regains full use of the area.

• Conservation Easement

A conservation easement is a legal agreement that limits how a piece of land can be used to protect its natural, historical, or scenic features. Landowners voluntarily agree to these restrictions, often in partnership with a conservation organization, to preserve the environment while still retaining ownership. This helps safeguard open spaces, wildlife habitats, and agricultural lands for future generations.

• Prescriptive Easement

A prescriptive easement is a legal right to use someone else's property, gained over time through continuous and open use without the owner's permission. A city may establish a prescriptive easement when it has continuously used private land for public purposes, like maintaining a sidewalk, storm or sanitary sewer, or access, without formal permission. Over time, if the use meets legal requirements, the city can gain the right to access and maintain the area permanently.

Easement Responsibilities and Restrictions

What is important for property owners to know, is that while easements are part of your property, there are certain things you can’t do in the easement to ensure the services and facilities provided in the easement function properly. Things like: bridges, playground equipment, pools, fences, sheds, fill, and other structures or landscaping that can interfere with the function of the easement cannot be placed in an easement. Structures found in an easement as part of inspection or maintenance activities will be required to be removed by the property owner at the property owner’s expense.

Property owners are typically responsible for basic upkeep within an easement, such as mowing grass or removing debris, as long as it does not interfere with the easement's intended use. They must ensure that the area remains accessible for utilities, drainage, or shared access and cannot make changes that obstruct its function.

Property owners should be made aware of any easements on their property when the property is purchased.