Developer Tried to Grant Himself and Easement

[DarrylG]

Developer Tried to Grant Himself an Easement

What is the name of your state? Connecticut

I have several issues with a developer who is building a house on land accessed via a 50 foot easement across my property. The language in the easement, in part, states "for ingress and egress and all purposes in common over and across" my land. It is my understanding that this would allow the develolper to install aboveground but not underground utilities across my property.

Recently, the developer (after already completing the framing, roofing, windows and landscaping) approached me about granting an easement to the power company for underground utilities. I gave him a price for the easement, which I guess he didn't like, because he then tried, through his attorney, to grant a NEW easement to the power company for the purpose of installing the underground utilities. The power company kicked it back at him and told him that I needed to grant the easement, and that they could only assign their existing rights. Now the developer wants me to grant the easement, without compensation. Not gonna happen.

Can anyone tell me what law, if any, this developer and his attorney violated by trying to grant rights across my property? I talked to the State Police, and they showed no interest in pursuing legal action againt the attorney/developer. Just to clarify, he did not try to assign his existing rights, but to grant new rights (underground) that he does not have.

Thanks,

Darryl

 

[John Se]

wouldnt underground utilities be better?

Or do you just like looking at power lines and poles, telephone lines cable lines and whatever new services they want? Seems to me that undergrond is the way to go, so whats your beef? they already have an easement. I hate the above ground utilities, they are also much more secure, dont get blown down, trees snowstorms Etc.

 

[DarrylG]

Thanks for the reply.

I have a few problems with the underground utilities given the little information the developer is willing to provide. Although I have requested it, I have not been provided with a map showing where they are to be located, at what depth (24 inches is typical), or the existing/proposed grades.

Here's a little more info I probably should have given: The ROW runs across a 2.6 acre lot that, in addition to providing access to the Developer's lot, provides access to a 25 acre lot I own and is the only practical access to that lot should I choose to develop it in the future. This is in a 1/2 acre zone and I have nearly 1/2 mile of river frontage...clearly a valuable lot. In the future, I would like to be able to give my engineers a clean slate unencumbered by the existence of underground utilities to work around. His line will run shallow across a couple areas of ledge that will have to be blasted or chipped away in the future. How am I supposed to do that once the line is in service?

Furthermore, I don't trust this guy at all. He has lied to me since day one, has threatened me, has screwed up the grading in the ROW and on his property so that nearly all rainwater flows onto my property (and refused to correct it), has stolen my top soil and planted trees and shrubs in the ROW without my consent, cut down my trees outside the ROW, repeately blocked my access, harrassed my guests....I could go on. Not someone I want to be making business deals with. No, I don't want to see overhead utilities, but I believe it to be the lesser of two evils.

 

[DarrylG]

Does anyone have input on what law was broken by the developer when he tried to grant himself an easement? I don't see how that could be legal.

 

[HomeGuru]

Does anyone have input on what law was broken by the developer when he tried to grant himself an easement? I don't see how that could be legal.

**A: no law was violated.

 

[Gadfly]

He tried. It didn't happen. That part is over.

What makes you think that in future developement your contractor or whatever won't have to "work around" the above ground utilities?

Look, just because you don't like the guy and just because you are upset that he is developing on your lot doesn't make it right for you to be a jerk too.

 

[DarrylG]

Point well taken. In fact, the developer and I just had an hour long talk out on his job site. He's agreed to take care of the drainage problem he created to the degree possible, put down some erosion resistant processed stone where my drive is washing out, record an as-built map showing the trees and shrubs that encroach on my property and record on the deed that he (the buyer really) will maintain them. In addition, I've given him verbal permission to dig a test trench in the vicinity of some ledge in the underground utility path.

Darryl