EASEMENTS
Much of what is contained here came directly from the Garden District's August 11 eNewsletter including the pictures. I've tailored it to suit the Cabrini neighborhood. Cabrini does not have a lot of easements but where there are some, they can prove to be problematic and a source of confusion. Here's the facts:
WHO OWNS THE EASEMENTS? ARE THEY PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAYS?The easements are a constant source of frustration and concern. Easements are "secret" highways and offer hiding places throughout our neighborhood. Many burglars case and access homes from behind or escape through the back via the easements. They sometimes stash stolen goods in the easements so they can come back later for them. There are frequently signs in the easements of people living or spending time there tagging, drinking, and/or doing drugs. The easements are often a source of crime and trouble. Over the years, various TPD officers and City personnel have repeatedly state that the utility easements are public right of ways. This attitude is also confirmed when calling 911. 911 operators always tell residents that strangers have the legal right to walk through the easement and sometimes they do not treat seriously phone calls about suspicious people in easements. It turns out this is not true. An easement and an alley are different. An alley is a public thoroughfare, the easement is not. Easements are for utility access, but are owned by the property owners. Therefore, if a non-resident or someone who is not utility personnel is in one of our easements, they are technically TRESPASSING. Here is the trespass law: "13-1502. Criminal trespass in the third degree; classification A. A person commits criminal trespass in the third degree by: 1. Knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully on any real property after a reasonable request to leave by the owner or any other person having lawful control over such property, or reasonable notice prohibiting entry. 2. Knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully on the right-of-way for tracks, or the storage or switching yards or rolling stock of a railroad company. B. Criminal trespass in the third degree is a class 3 misdemeanor." Source: http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/13/01502.htm&Title=13&Doc The Garden District is currently pressing for a response from the City Attorney's office interpreting their special situation with the easements and whether or not they would prosecute trespassers, but, after over a month and repeated emails, they have not heard anything. Don Ijams of Neighborhood Support Network says that "it is my understanding that your property must be posted 'No Trespassing' with its boundaries plainly visible." Boundaries plainly visible would indicate that gating your easement was necessary in order to delineate the boundaries, but we have not had anything official from the City Attorney's office on this. The article block after this one contains information about gating your easement. You do have the right to post signs in the easement that say, ""No Trespassing. Residents and Utility Personnel Only. Violators will be prosecuted." When you call 911 about suspicious activity in the easement, I would report it as trespassing on private property.
Whether the City Attorney would actually prosecute someone who walked through an easement without permission is a question. Whether 911 Operators and Police will respond differently than they have in the past to Trespassing calls from residents is unsure. GDNA is still waiting for an advisement from City Attorney Mike Rankin on prosecuting trespassers in the easements. Community Resource Officer Tammie Thomas says: TPD has numerous concerns about whether they could arrest someone who is trespassing in an easement. Problems may occur if someone tries to prosecute for trespassing in easements. Police would have to prove that someone "knowingly" committed trespassing. How do the police, average citizens, etc. know which is an easement and which is an alley? Mr. Rankin may also advise on the fence or gate issue at the end of each easement, along with signs and whether every resident in the area would need to sign a trespass letter. Mr. Rankin might also have information related to Fire Department access necessities related to the easements. |
IS YOUR BACK DOOR LOCKED? IF YOUR EASEMENT IS NOT GATED ON BOTH ENDS, IT'S NOT!YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO GATE YOUR EASEMENT. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO POST "NO TRESPASSING" SIGNS IN YOUR EASEMENT. If you are interested in gating your easement, contact your neighbor and see if they are interested in sharing expenses! Surely chipping in $25 per resident to install a gate is much less than you would spend to replace stolen items from your home. You may gate and lock your easement as long as utilities and neighbors still have access. The city does not own the easements. Each property owner is responsible for maintaining their half of the easement. TPD says that if you want to gate your easement, you should notify all the neighbors that share the easement. You do not need their permission. You need to inform them. Some residents in the Garden District did not gate their easement with chain link, but used a lighter weight, less expensive rolled fencing and stakes to block the entrances to their utility easements. They have found the lighter fencing to be an effective deterrent so far. An easement gated with chain link or other fencing is a deterrent, even if it is not locked. Besides sending the message that the easement area is owned by residents, taken care of and not a thoroughfare, it makes it difficult and slower for a criminal to use it. Bad Guys are much more likely to be noticed by residents if they have to stop to open a gate, than if they can just quickly slip behind a home and down an easement. A gate is hard to open and noisy. It takes a long time to open it and every property owner bordering it hears that it's been opened so they look out to see who is in the easement. If you decide to LOCK the easement, you must make sure that all neighbors and the utilities have access. You must inform each utility company that you have gated and locked your easement. TPD suggests that you can get one of those word combination locks and give neighbors and utilities the combination. On the other hand, you may not want to lock your easement because of the issues with notifying utilities, plus in an emergency, you don't want Fire or Police to take the time to cut the lock off. |