Easement question

[CascadeClone]

I'm On has been laying fiber all thru our CR neighborhood this summer. They finally got to us. But they put it all on our property, not in the utility easements.

We have a really odd lot, and one edge of it runs along the back of 5 other houses. There is a fence which runs along it, which I understand is mine and is basically right on (or near) the property line. Pervious owner was a jerk and pushed the fence as far as he could. The utility easements are clearly shown on the assessor map as being in the back yards of the 5 houses, NOT on my side of the line.

I came home last night from work, and they had the big ole truck with the trailer full of orange underground tubing in my driveway. And they had already drilled the route all the way along the line, on my side. Had hand dug a bunch of the holes for the boxes to connect to the houses as well. Fait accompli. Also had a big ditch witch running over where the sewer line is.

I talked to the supervisor (E&D Underground, subcontractor) and he was mostly trying to reassure me they wouldn't damage anything. Which wasn't my concern, but he was also kind of stuck and not much he could do about it. His job is just to calm down homeowners I am sure.

My question for the group is - do I have any rights here? Can I call I'm On and demand some compensation? I'm more mad about the principal of it, and I would take cash in lieu of making them re-dig it in the actual easements. IKIK, call an atty, but thought I would ask here quick since some people know things.

 

[cyclonespiker33]

I'm On has been laying fiber all thru our CR neighborhood this summer. They finally got to us. But they put it all on our property, not in the utility easements.

We have a really odd lot, and one edge of it runs along the back of 5 other houses. There is a fence which runs along it, which I understand is mine and is basically right on (or near) the property line. Pervious owner was a jerk and pushed the fence as far as he could. The utility easements are clearly shown on the assessor map as being in the back yards of the 5 houses, NOT on my side of the line.

I came home last night from work, and they had the big ole truck with the trailer full of orange underground tubing in my driveway. And they had already drilled the route all the way along the line, on my side. Had hand dug a bunch of the holes for the boxes to connect to the houses as well. Fait accompli. Also had a big ditch witch running over where the sewer line is.

I talked to the supervisor (E&D Underground, subcontractor) and he was mostly trying to reassure me they wouldn't damage anything. Which wasn't my concern, but he was also kind of stuck and not much he could do about it. His job is just to calm down homeowners I am sure.

My question for the group is - do I have any rights here? Can I call I'm On and demand some compensation? I'm more mad about the principal of it, and I would take cash in lieu of making them re-dig it in the actual easements. IKIK, call an atty, but thought I would ask here quick since some people know things.

Yes, they messed up. I think it's more likely they would move into the easement than give you money.

 

[throwittoblythe]

I'm On has been laying fiber all thru our CR neighborhood this summer. They finally got to us. But they put it all on our property, not in the utility easements.

We have a really odd lot, and one edge of it runs along the back of 5 other houses. There is a fence which runs along it, which I understand is mine and is basically right on (or near) the property line. Pervious owner was a jerk and pushed the fence as far as he could. The utility easements are clearly shown on the assessor map as being in the back yards of the 5 houses, NOT on my side of the line.

I came home last night from work, and they had the big ole truck with the trailer full of orange underground tubing in my driveway. And they had already drilled the route all the way along the line, on my side. Had hand dug a bunch of the holes for the boxes to connect to the houses as well. Fait accompli. Also had a big ditch witch running over where the sewer line is.

I talked to the supervisor (E&D Underground, subcontractor) and he was mostly trying to reassure me they wouldn't damage anything. Which wasn't my concern, but he was also kind of stuck and not much he could do about it. His job is just to calm down homeowners I am sure.

My question for the group is - do I have any rights here? Can I call I'm On and demand some compensation? I'm more mad about the principal of it, and I would take cash in lieu of making them re-dig it in the actual easements. IKIK, call an atty, but thought I would ask here quick since some people know things.

They are doing the same in our neighborhood in central Iowa. They marked all the utilities last week.

We have a corner lot and I have a tulip bed in the grass portion on the corner between the two sidewalks. It came with the house so I didn’t plant it but it’s full of well established tulips. I really hope they don’t kill them when they put the lines in.

I also recognize that’s not my property so I have zero recourse if they do.

 

[dafarmer]

Have your deed examined by an expert, probably contact a lawyer. Your property value will probably take a hit.

 

[iahawkhunter]

I'm On has been laying fiber all thru our CR neighborhood this summer. They finally got to us. But they put it all on our property, not in the utility easements.

We have a really odd lot, and one edge of it runs along the back of 5 other houses. There is a fence which runs along it, which I understand is mine and is basically right on (or near) the property line. Pervious owner was a jerk and pushed the fence as far as he could. The utility easements are clearly shown on the assessor map as being in the back yards of the 5 houses, NOT on my side of the line.

I came home last night from work, and they had the big ole truck with the trailer full of orange underground tubing in my driveway. And they had already drilled the route all the way along the line, on my side. Had hand dug a bunch of the holes for the boxes to connect to the houses as well. Fait accompli. Also had a big ditch witch running over where the sewer line is.

I talked to the supervisor (E&D Underground, subcontractor) and he was mostly trying to reassure me they wouldn't damage anything. Which wasn't my concern, but he was also kind of stuck and not much he could do about it. His job is just to calm down homeowners I am sure.

My question for the group is - do I have any rights here? Can I call I'm On and demand some compensation? I'm more mad about the principal of it, and I would take cash in lieu of making them re-dig it in the actual easements. IKIK, call an atty, but thought I would ask here quick since some people know things.

Nice brag.

 

[Clonehomer]

So did they put the boxes on your property as well? Cause that’s what I’d be more upset about. The trench shouldn’t affect you long term, but every time they need to check someone’s connection they’ll need to enter your yard if the boxes are there.

 

[CascadeClone]

So did they put the boxes on your property as well? Cause that’s what I’d be more upset about. The trench shouldn’t affect you long term, but every time they need to check someone’s connection they’ll need to enter your yard if the boxes are there.

4 of 5 boxes on my side.

 

[CascadeClone]

Nice brag.

LOL. Its a weird lot. We are behind the houses on both the east-west and north-south streets. Goes back to the 50s when it was built, in the middle of an extra big block. So we have a long driveway down to the east-west street (it runs along the 5 houses) and I think it was the main entrance originally, just grass now. Then we have a shorter driveway to the north-south road, which is paved.

But we do like it, we have good green space and are back off the streets a ways.

 

[cyfan964]

Understand it is going to take a lot of time/effort/money to figure out. It sucks, but you'll likely need the lot resurveyed, you'll need a lawyer, and you'll need a lot of time of back and forth with the company AND the city.

I've dealt with this before... it's not cheap or worth it. That's my opinion.

 

[Raymeus]

They should have a recorded easement document. That would dictate what rights they have. It would also legally describe their easement area and hopefully also have a depiction of it. You can also look at your survey to see where their easement is located.

 

[chuckd4735]

Document the hell out of it (pictures, notes of conversations, etc.). I would also contact an attorney ASAP to help you out. You might also call the City and let them know, because the City COULD pull their right-of-way permit if they are aware of violations.

Honestly, good luck. Iowa, and just about every other State, has given these private utilities so much freedom, and the private utilities just continue to lobby for more. As I'm sure you know, you're likely one of thousands of properties lodging similar complaints, so don't expect any sort of special treatment as they don't have enough staff (or care to have enough staff) to handle the level of complaints that are coming in.

Also, when all said and done, I would let your State Senator and Rep know so they stop giving these jack holes so much freedom.

 

[1SEIACLONE]

You need to see a lawyer ASAP, I wonder if the crew did not take the easy way out,going the entire way across your yard meant they did not have to go under fences repeatedly if they had put them on the other side. If you are part of an HOA, call them and see what they say about it.

Our back yard is much the same way, the first people to put in fences kept them about 5 to 10 feet from the easement, but the last neighbor or two started to put their fences right up to the easement. Which created an L shape in our back yard, as there is where they met. Our home was one of the last to go in, so it had fences on both side, and the back, but one half of the fence is five feet in front of the other, and the one that is further back has to use the gate he installed in the fence to mow that area, which looks like its in our backyard. I finally told him, that I would mow it, unless he has a problem with me doing it. Which is what we now do.

Talk to your HOA and then a lawyer.

 

[CycloneDaddy]

AT&T is running lines in the front of our houses when everything else is in the backyards. Some neighbors are getting the vertical boxes in their front yards and are not happy.

 

[Clonehomer]

AT&T is running lines in the front of our houses when everything else is in the backyards. Some neighbors are getting the vertical boxes in their front yards and are not happy.

This is another reason public utilities in Cedar Falls is awesome. You don’t have 5 different companies running their own lines. CFU put the fiber in across the city and that’s essentially it for telecommunications. Mediacom had some lines, but I think they’ve essentially abandoned them because they cannot compete with CFU’s rates and performance.

 

[KennyPratt42]

I wouldn’t advise running to an attorney, unless this is a hill you want to die on, which if it is then yes work though an attorney as quickly as possible.

If it’s more of a principle thing then I would talk to the subcontractor to see if they will correct and if not have them give you the contact to the fiber company. You hopefully can get them to move the lines and boxes, the odds of getting them to pay you anything is significantly less (will take an order of magnitude more effort).

If it’s a good subcontractor they will take out and move when you show them on the assessors page they missed the utility easement. If they won’t then the fiber company will hopefully help because they are more worried about pr and also want you as a customer.

In my experience with similar issues as a landowner your best approach is to not be emotional or escalate, but also be firm and specific with what you want. In this case the lines and boxes need to be moved to the correct location, in the utility easement.

 

[Clonehomer]

Question I’d have is if the lines and boxes aren’t in the easement, are they still protected with the local ordnances? Do you need to provide access to your back yard if there isn’t an easement in there? Or if you do something in your backyard that ends up damaging one of the boxes, are you responsible if it isn’t supposed to be there?

 

[KennyPratt42]

A couple other thoughts that come to mind. If you can’t get anywhere with the subcontractor or fiber company, going to the city can sometimes help. You mileage will vary greatly, but sometimes a city/city employee will do a good job stepping in for a citizen when it comes to utilities.

Also if you, like me, don’t want to spend much money/time fighting this I would do one thing if you can’t get anywhere with the sub, fiber company, or city. I’d either do it myself or have an attorney draft and send a letter to all three that states a mistake was made and you aren’t giving up any future rights in regards to removal or access.

 

[CivEFootball]

Sounds like you're sure they installed it outside the easement. If you're so certain dig it up and cut it twice removing a section. Then they'll contact you to remedy the situation. Only recommended if you're certain they are outside the easement.

 

[JayV]

I would ask for free top tier internet service for life to your property. They are more likely to give you that than $x,xxx.

 

[FarmerCy1]

File a complaint with the Iowa Utilities Commission. Sometimes these utility companies won’t listen to the city, or an attorney but they will listen and respond fairly fast to IUC complaints, at least in my experience they do.