"John Eaton" wrote in message
...
LB in StL wrote:

: usually if your sewer line passes through someone else's property you
: would have an easement for access to the line, of course you'd have to
: restore the property after the work but you might not need permission.

: The person who told us that we would need permission from the people
across
: the street before we could do anything on their property was the Chief
: Engineer for the city in which we live.

He could be right but I would want to find out more.

He may know that you don't NEED permission but is trying to avoid
having your angry neighbor showing up at his office asking why you
are digging up his yard.

Maybe his office or the original developers "forgot" to get all the
easements in place and he is now hoping that noone will notice?

The 'as built' street and the 'as platted' street often do not match,
especially in curbless subdivisions. In many subdivisions I have seen, the
paved street is a meandering 1.5 lane blacktop, but the legal easement is
the full 40 feet or whatever wide. Note that in a subdivision, unlike a
through road or hiway, the street is often NOT owned by the city or
whatever, and the 'official' property lines go to the center of the road.
The easment for the street, and the agreement for city upkeep, are often
part of the subdivision documents. And sewers usually go in before streets,
if available when subdivision is created. They are often off to one side, if
added later, to avoid tearing up road completely, with 'wrong' side hookups
pushed under pavement, or done in as narrow a slit as possible.

Like most real estate things, there is much variation from area to area.
Local assesors office, or wherever the recorded deeds live, can give you the
straight info for your block. All this is a good example of why it is a Very
Good Idea to get a current survey and updated abstract when buying property.

aem sends....