Most subdivisions that create individual lots, also have streets,
drainage systems and utility easements that are either dedicated to the
local jurisdiction or an easement over your private property. Streets
are often designed to certain standards and their overall width as shown
on the subdivision plat map often encroaches onto what you may think is
your property. A Right of Way or Rights of Way, is typically the
section of land between the edge of the street and your actual front
property line. This Right of Way allows the city or county to do a
number of things including access utility connections, maintain drainage
ditches, curb and gutter, sidewalks or even to widen the road if that
is in the master plan.
Most homeowners are not aware that this
section of land has restrictions on its use. Whether it is an easement
across your property or the Right of Way is city or county owned, you
may not build or construct anything you want without risking it being
removed if access to land is required. Often a Right of Way permit is
required to do anything.
So what can you build in your front yard?
First, you must determine exactly what you own and what the city or
county owns. In a Right of Way, typically you may install a driveway
across the ROW to access the street. But building any kind of wall is
typically not allowed within a Right of Way or Easement. If the city or
county was to grant you a permit to build it, who then would maintain it
and if the city had to dig up utility lines and remove the structure,
who would pay to replace it? These are the reasons, only minimal
improvements are allowed such as driveways and landscape plant material.
You
will also find out about your front yard building setback which is
different than an easement or a ROW. It is a part of the Zoning District
setup by the city to regulate how close buildings can be to their lot
lots on all four sides. Front yard setbacks restrict how close to the
front yard property line you can build your house or any extension of it
including low walls such as for a courtyard.
In planning the
design of residential landscape, I check with the city as the first step
to determine where the Right of Way, Easements and Setbacks are
located. These are all building restrictions that must be followed,
especially if what the homeowner wants to do requires a building permit.
Jurisdictions
have different regulations and use restrictions as to what can be done
and who will maintain it. The city may turn maintenance responsibility
over to the homeowners even though they own the underlying property. If a
homeowner improves the Right of Way with landscaping for their benefit,
then it is in their best interest to continue to maintain it so it
looks good. The one thing the city is most concerned about is liability.
If the Right of Way is subject to flooding or has excessive weed
growth, it may go ahead and perform maintenance because, legally it is
the owner of the property.
Restrictions on the use of one's
property is part of the due diligence everyone should perform when
buying new real estate. Locating the property corners will often reveal
that a good portion of the front yard is really not your property, or
may have restrictions that may not be acceptable to you. This is often
the case with raw land where the actual property lines are not obvious.
I
have seen where a person property is actually the center line of the
street and also where the property line is about 25 feet away from the
edge of pavement. These Right of Ways and Easements can vary widely
among jurisdictions. If you have an issue with your Right of Way
landscaping, I may be able to help.
