Bay City, MI asked in Real Estate Law for Michigan

Q: Can i request relief for a prescribed easement against a municipality?

There has been an unauthorized easement to my property for over 85 yrs. Ive only owned the property for 6 yrs. The path is the only way to get to my driveway or i have to park on the road. However, parking my vehicles on the road will block my neighbors driveways. The city road is only wide enough for 1 vehicle to drive down and its a dead-end road.

Update..I need the easement. The city wants me to pay to revert the easement back to sod and grass. The easement has been there long before the city owned the property. Previous owners are a rail road company who gave the property to the city under a limited use deed.

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2 Lawyer Answers
David Soble
PREMIUM
David Soble
Answered
  • Farmington Hills, MI
  • Licensed in Michigan

A: Sounds as if you don't agree with the easement, however, you can block the driveway and do whatever you legally wish, etc., The other parties who wish to use the easement will need to legally challenge your denial of permission to use the driveway. Otherwise, there is no issue until raised.

Kenneth V Zichi
Kenneth V Zichi
Answered
  • Fowlerville, MI
  • Licensed in Michigan

A: There are lots of unanswered questions raised by your statement of facts here. "Unauthorized" in what way? Who owns the property -- you or the city? Is this easement on YOUR property or are you trying to use the property AS an easement to get access to your property? It is all pretty unclear.

And those details impact what you should do. At this point the BEST advice is to bring your situation with drawings and that 'limited use deed' to a local real estate attorney to review and provide you real advice. It does sound, as Mr Soble said, like this is headed to court if you can't work out the details with the city, but whether or not that will happen and what sort of compromise is appropriate is a whole different question! Get local legal advice!

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