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<br /> <br />tervi{{e <br /> <br />Estaliflsficd.1837 <br /> <br />1880 'Main Street, Centerviffe,:M!N 55038 <br />651-429~3232 or Pa..t.. 651-429~8629 <br /> <br />April 22, 2005 <br /> <br />Mayor and Council: <br /> <br />The City has received a request from a property owner to construct an addition that <br />would encroach about two feet into the City drainage easement. In this particular case the <br />easement incorporates most of the rear yard and is not the more typical five or ten feet <br />along a property line. <br /> <br />The City I last worked for did occasionally allow minor encroachments when it is clear <br />that the city's intended use of the easement would not be impaired. There are generally <br />two ways to permit this. First is by vacating the easement and the second is by an <br />encroachment agreement. We liked to use an encroachment agreement because it could <br />accomplish the purpose without permanently giving up all or part of the easement, and <br />the process doesn't require a public hearing as would be the case with vacating the <br />easement. We always made the requesting party provide a surveyed site plan of the <br />encroachment so there would not be any uncertainty about what was being approved. <br /> <br />I have attached a draft of a possible document. Title insurance companies are usually <br />okay with these except if the encroaching structure has substantial value, they may be <br />uncomfortable with the language that allows the city to order the encroachment to be <br />removed. There is nothing wrong with an absolute prohibition on putting anything in an <br />easement, but where some structures can be allowed without interfering with the <br />easement, that could be helpful to the property owners. The Council needs to decide <br />whether you wish to open the door to considering these. And when the door is opened, <br />you will get requests for consideration. <br /> <br />Dallas Larson, Administrator <br /> <br />L.__ <br />