twnshp taking access to property away

[enelojh]

I live in Minnesota and three years ago purchased 20 acres of land through a real estate company. The land had been vacant for about 4 or 5 years when we purchased it. The drive way for the land crosses a public lake access and a small sliver of property purchased some years ago by the township from a previous owner. Last summer, we had a problem with the road in front of our driveway - (there was a sink hole in the sand) So, we contacted the township and asked them to fix it. To make a long story short, they refused to fix it saying it wasn't on their land so we fixed it. All of a sudden, last fall we received a letter in the mail from the township saying that they had voted and decided that we need to move our driveway because they were no longer going to allow us to access it across their property. By the way, they don't have any good reason for this, but can they do this or not??? We did contact a lawyer and he said that it would cost more money to fight the matter than it is worth.

 

[Tracey]

The town bought its sliver of land subject to your access easement. Therefore, to extinguish the easement, it must exercise its power of eminent domain. Make sure the town followed the correct procedures before doing so. If it did not give you proper notice & opportunity to be heard, the town has taken your property without due process.

Under the rules of eminent domain, the town must be taking the easement for a public purpose, and must pay you for the easement it has taken. The most common dispute in an eminent domain case is how much the property owner should be paid. You argue that you should receive the money for a new drveway + the diminution in value of your land due to moving the driveway through your landscaping. If your land has no road access, the town has to buy you a new easement.

You can also challenge whether extinguishing your easement serves a valid public purpose. This is generally not a winning argument, but you can try it.

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.