50' utility and drainage easement

22 years ago

I live in a small restricted subdivision (around 10 houses) that has a culdesack at the end of it. I own one of the lot's at the corner of the culdesack. It's a nice peaceful neighborhood. As the road ends at the culdesack, there is a 50' wide U & D easement that extends into a 40 acre hay field. The owner of the field wants to develop the 40 acres. Does the owner of the field have the right to put in a curbed road, which to my knowledge requires a 60' wide "right of way"? Is there anyway it can be stopped? There is a gravel road there now which allows the tractors in to cut the hay, which is great! But I'm frustrated by the fact that construction traffic through there will probably increase 300% or more through a subdivision that is already established. There is really no ties between this new "subdivision" and the one I'm in. Thanks for any advice.

Is there a difference between a right of way and easement?

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Comment (1)

pnbrown
22 years ago
You have to go back to the original sub-division plans (you will find them at the registry of deeds), and see precisely what rights were passed on from the previous owners to the developers.

The 'field' and your subdivision were likely owned by the same person at one time, and so rights of way between the two pieces may well be reciprocal. I rather doubt that the easement has to be 60' wide to be paved. I live in a similar subdivision that was laid out over 100 yrs ago, has developed and undeveloped 'private' roads, public 'rights of way' to bodies of water, a divested developer, etc. It's extremely complicated and gray, nothing is certain unless it has been land-courted - at least in this state. I also have a corner lot abutting an undeveloped and partially undeveloped right-of-way making my lot effectively twice as large as denoted in the plan. How much control I legally have over these areas is highly nebulous.

If you are serious, hire a lawyer VERY well-versed in these matters for your state.
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