Neighbor has elected to damage over 20 trees

[MossRoad]

His reward was the dirt and rocks he took for his property which is not in ROW ! He would raise all sorts of cane if I cleared a 50' swath...claiming it served no purpose and damaged the ambiance of the area...

So he took dirt and rocks from outside the 50' ROW?

 

[LD1]

So he took dirt and rocks from outside the 50' ROW?

As I understand...he took dirt and rocks from WITHIN the ROW, and too them outside of the ROW to use on his own property

 

[dmccarty]

As I understand...he took dirt and rocks from WITHIN the ROW, and too them outside of the ROW to use on his own property

And it appears that he took some trees for his own use:

He cut down 10 trees in April and hauled them to his property on the other side of the road, where he cut them up for firewood. He then dug the stumps out. They are White Pines in the range of 30'.

I don't think a 30' foot pine is going to have a large diameter and I would not think it is worth much, but if the trees did NOT need to be removed for road access, I would be peeved.

There is a reasonableness test to all of this. If I went on my neighbors property, within the ROW, and dug a big hole to get gravel to spread on the common road, without asking, me thinks I would be in trouble.

Later,
Dan

 

[747driver]

As I understand...he took dirt and rocks from WITHIN the ROW, and too them outside of the ROW to use on his own property

Yes...you are correct. Thats what bothers us ! He has used the dirt and rocks for his own property outside of the ROW.

 

[riptides]

So now I ask....just because there is a 50' ROW you have the right to do anything you wish within that 50' ? Even though your property is part of that 50'ROW ?

Bad memories for me. ROW, easements and passage make for great wealth - for lawyers. It is pretty complicated.

 

[MossRoad]

Yes...you are correct. Thats what bothers us ! He has used the dirt and rocks for his own property outside of the ROW.

Well that's no good. Kinda like mining without a permit. While he has a right to use the ROW, he probably doesn't have a right to harvest trees and soil from it.

 

[747driver]

Well that's no good. Kinda like mining without a permit. While he has a right to use the ROW, he probably doesn't have a right to harvest trees and soil from it.

Thats what I want to go and ask the lawyer about. Had he used the rocks and dirt to repurpose the road I couldn't *****. I will ask Todd Hoffman ( Gold Rush) on the mining part !!

 

[EddieWalker]

Well that's no good. Kinda like mining without a permit. While he has a right to use the ROW, he probably doesn't have a right to harvest trees and soil from it.

He has the right to improve the road, including drainage. Hauling off the debris could easily be seen as doing a nice job and cleaning up his mess. Or it could be theft. It's not an argument that I would spend any money on, especially since the end result is a cleaned up road area and not a big mess.

 

[JerryK]

The way I look at it, is that he improved your road while not dumping the krap onto your side of the road. Granted, a word or two ahead of time would have been nice. But you would probably not like a bunch of stuff piled on your side of the road, and he had to put it somewhere. 12' is not much of a road if you get bigger trucks coming in, and it sure would help if you had snow to plow.... So, I would buy a 6 pack and go over and share it with him/converse on his good job....

 

[Paddy]

747 driver,

Wow, a lot of replies. I live at the end of a shared 1.3 mile long private road. Many different opinions on how the use is perceived. For us being very long, it's a ROAD. To others a few hundred feet in, it's a drive way we should all drive 5 mph.

Some folks keep the side cleared way back for cars to pull off if another is coming head on. Others scream for trimming small branches that scratch your car! One lady planted some "decorative grass" that grows 6 ft tall and just about as wide, one foot from the edge of the road. This was done past where she drives to get in to her drive, nice !

I'm in the camp, its a 50 ft wide road easement. At least 5 ft on both sides should be kept back for a single lane road.