R.O.W. Problem

[bcp]

See if there are fire department requirements. One place I know of required private community roads (not driveways) be wide enough for two fire trucks to pass.

Bruce

 

[K5lwq]

Why not just do away with the HOA and dues and tell everyone they are responsible for their right of ways? That would be my vote for sure.

The problem with HOAs is rules have to get passed and then enforced By someone. Who ever takes that job will always be the bad guy. Then what Happens when someone gets hurt on the ROW? Is the HOM responsible? Just a thought.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

At what point can the right of way be upgraded to an official county road? Does the mail carrier run down the ROW?

 

[ruffdog]

"narrowing the normal 15' roadway to less than 10'. "

Boy, 10 feet or less is not that wide for emergency vehicles or dump trucks.

 

[MossRoad]

You would think so but you have to convince the local judge.

Here, on county roads, at least, and as others have mentioned, you can't put any structures, items, etc, in the ROW. People will occasionally put large rocks, logs, mailboxes, etc. in the ROW right up to the pavement. The County makes them remove it as soon as they're notified. If they don't the County removed it and bills them.

So you're saying your road is completely private and has no County/Township/Other government involvement at all?

If it's all private, sounds like your only recourse is to live with it or sue.

In my younger days, I'd probably resort to other means (there's medication to reduce those tendencies ), but that just escalates the situation. Because if it's taken into your own hands, who knows what will happen? I recall several instances of adults with black eyes on our block when I was a kid. And lawsuits. And petty tit-for-tats with fencing and landscaping.

Does your state have Barrett Laws?

When I was a kid, there were 17 houses on the street. 9 of them wanted the street paved, curbs, drainage, and sewers put in. 8 of them did not. The 9 got the city to pass a barrett law where the city took over maintenance of the road, installed sewers and drainage, paved the road, then charge every property owner an amount to pay for the improvements in front of their property, and set up a payment plan. My father had the longest road frontage and had to pay the most. It about bankrupted him at the time. That whole issue put an US vs THEM into the neighborhood, and created two factions. The tensions were never resolved amongst the adults and you could see it when they'd just look at each other.

So, you have to live with the guy. Proceed with caution.

 

[MossRoad]

Ours is an alcoholic so there may be hope.

Yeah, ahhh, maybe. but it took 20 years. She's so weak now that she rarely leaves the house. Her son is in prison and her husband passed away. All the fight went out of her, and she no longer does bizarre things out in the yard. She did see an ostrich last year.

 

[RustyA]

We live on a private road with 9 lots, each with their own private driveways off the road. Our plat map clearly shows in right of way for private road as it passes through each property. We have a road maintenance agreement with annual dues that pay for snow plowing, grading, and gravel as needed. Our township inspects the road each fall for proper access for fire/EMT/and snowplow width. Guess we are blessed that everyone pays their fair share annually, we also keep a fund balance in a non-interest bearing account. Every now and then when a property changes hands there has been friction. Usually solved with a berm of gravel in front of their driveway...within the boundaries of the right of way of course. That's only happened once and within a week they paid two years of dues into the fund.

 

[ruffdog]

At the very least, a certified letter sent to the land owner explaining that damage to the fence in the ROW will not be paid by the association.

 

[riptides]

The ROW is marked on the subdivision map and recorded at the county courthouse. It only has a vague reference in the deeds though.

Then possibly make it a county issue.

Remove the fence based on county/state standards for road ways. Perhaps have a friend in emergency services write something up to that fact. Access is the issue and access is impeded.

 

[riptides]

....

A long time ago there was a thread here on TBN that involved a person with an easement through his property for a neighbor to be able to access the neighbor's property.

All of us armchair lawyers thought for sure the law would be on the side of the person who's land the easement passed through (given all the details we had at the time about use/misuse of the easement) and in the end, the person who's land the easement passed through got sued and lost BIG in court. It was awful.

I can't find the thread, so I'm guessing it was removed from public view at some point. It might be in the front porch area, but I don't venture over there, so my search wouldn't show it.
....

I remember that well. But we only heard one-side of that story.