Empathy List Archives

K

Kim@spadylaw.com

Tue, Sep 7, 2021 7:42 PM

Small city recently realized that a street that has been considered a public
street since the mid-1980's was never dedicated to and accepted by the
municipality.

An easement to the public "for use and purpose of a public road" was
recorded, but there is no record of formal acceptance by the city (other
than the city's maintenance of the street).

The housing development served by the street is not platted. There is also
a waterline running along the street for which I've not found an easement.

There are now 8-10 homes served by the street/waterline. I would prefer that
the property owners go ahead and have the area platted. I doubt the
governing body will want to require that, though. Would a roadway
dedication and utility easement executed by all current property owners be
the easiest solution?

Any other ideas or concerns?

Thanks

Kim Spady

Small city recently realized that a street that has been considered a public street since the mid-1980's was never dedicated to and accepted by the municipality. An easement to the public "for use and purpose of a public road" was recorded, but there is no record of formal acceptance by the city (other than the city's maintenance of the street). The housing development served by the street is not platted. There is also a waterline running along the street for which I've not found an easement. There are now 8-10 homes served by the street/waterline. I would prefer that the property owners go ahead and have the area platted. I doubt the governing body will want to require that, though. Would a roadway dedication and utility easement executed by all current property owners be the easiest solution? Any other ideas or concerns? Thanks Kim Spady

RK

Rick Knighton

Tue, Sep 7, 2021 8:24 PM

In our Ashton Grove saga of litigation, the developer attempted to use the lack of a statutory dedication of a lift station as leverage to get some other concessions from the City. When this didn't work, he submitted the issue to court. The City argued that there was a statutory dedication that resulted in fee ownership by the City. Alternatively, the City argued that there was a common law dedication that resulted in an easement. The district court ruled that there was a statutory dedication. The Court of Civil Appeals reversed. The OCCA held that there was a common law dedication - i.e., An implied dedication arises by operation of law based on the acts of the property owner. The OCCA opinion is attached and the discussion regarding the lift station begins on pg. 30. While it is not clear whether the property owners intended to dedicate the street in the mid-1980's, you assert that the City did maintain the street. This along with evidence regarding use of the property as a public street is probably sufficient to constitute a common law dedication. The same may be true for the waterline.

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

From: Kim@spadylaw.com Kim@spadylaw.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2021 2:43 PM
To: 'OAMA Luistserv' oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] Street - Small Municipality

Small city recently realized that a street that has been considered a public street since the mid-1980's was never dedicated to and accepted by the municipality.

An easement to the public "for use and purpose of a public road" was recorded, but there is no record of formal acceptance by the city (other than the city's maintenance of the street).

The housing development served by the street is not platted. There is also a waterline running along the street for which I've not found an easement.

There are now 8-10 homes served by the street/waterline. I would prefer that the property owners go ahead and have the area platted. I doubt the governing body will want to require that, though. Would a roadway dedication and utility easement executed by all current property owners be the easiest solution?

Any other ideas or concerns?

Thanks
Kim Spady

In our Ashton Grove saga of litigation, the developer attempted to use the lack of a statutory dedication of a lift station as leverage to get some other concessions from the City. When this didn't work, he submitted the issue to court. The City argued that there was a statutory dedication that resulted in fee ownership by the City. Alternatively, the City argued that there was a common law dedication that resulted in an easement. The district court ruled that there was a statutory dedication. The Court of Civil Appeals reversed. The OCCA held that there was a common law dedication - i.e., An implied dedication arises by operation of law based on the acts of the property owner. The OCCA opinion is attached and the discussion regarding the lift station begins on pg. 30. While it is not clear whether the property owners intended to dedicate the street in the mid-1980's, you assert that the City did maintain the street. This along with evidence regarding use of the property as a public street is probably sufficient to constitute a common law dedication. The same may be true for the waterline. Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | * rick.knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> | þ www.normanok.gov<http://www.normanok.gov/> This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. From: Kim@spadylaw.com <Kim@spadylaw.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2021 2:43 PM To: 'OAMA Luistserv' <oama@lists.imla.org> Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] Street - Small Municipality Small city recently realized that a street that has been considered a public street since the mid-1980's was never dedicated to and accepted by the municipality. An easement to the public "for use and purpose of a public road" was recorded, but there is no record of formal acceptance by the city (other than the city's maintenance of the street). The housing development served by the street is not platted. There is also a waterline running along the street for which I've not found an easement. There are now 8-10 homes served by the street/waterline. I would prefer that the property owners go ahead and have the area platted. I doubt the governing body will want to require that, though. Would a roadway dedication and utility easement executed by all current property owners be the easiest solution? Any other ideas or concerns? Thanks Kim Spady

JM

Jon Miller

Tue, Sep 7, 2021 8:28 PM

Kim,

You might consider putting the road easement on an agenda for acceptance by the City so that, at a minimum, the city has the road dedication formally accepted. I would then do some research to determine whether the grant of an easement for public road purposes would include the right to lay public utilities within the road right-of-way. Of course, one would think that the adjacent owners would want the city to maintain the street and to continue to provide water service.

Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1501 N. Mustang Road
Mustang, Oklahoma 73064
Telephone: (405) 376-7746
Facsimile: (405) 376-7721

This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

From: Kim@spadylaw.com Kim@spadylaw.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 2:43 PM
To: 'OAMA Luistserv' oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Street - Small Municipality

Small city recently realized that a street that has been considered a public street since the mid-1980's was never dedicated to and accepted by the municipality.

An easement to the public "for use and purpose of a public road" was recorded, but there is no record of formal acceptance by the city (other than the city's maintenance of the street).

The housing development served by the street is not platted. There is also a waterline running along the street for which I've not found an easement.

There are now 8-10 homes served by the street/waterline. I would prefer that the property owners go ahead and have the area platted. I doubt the governing body will want to require that, though. Would a roadway dedication and utility easement executed by all current property owners be the easiest solution?

Any other ideas or concerns?

Thanks
Kim Spady

Kim, You might consider putting the road easement on an agenda for acceptance by the City so that, at a minimum, the city has the road dedication formally accepted. I would then do some research to determine whether the grant of an easement for public road purposes would include the right to lay public utilities within the road right-of-way. Of course, one would think that the adjacent owners would want the city to maintain the street and to continue to provide water service. Jonathan E. Miller City Attorney City of Mustang 1501 N. Mustang Road Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 Telephone: (405) 376-7746 Facsimile: (405) 376-7721 This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege. From: Kim@spadylaw.com <Kim@spadylaw.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 2:43 PM To: 'OAMA Luistserv' <oama@lists.imla.org> Subject: [Oama] Street - Small Municipality Small city recently realized that a street that has been considered a public street since the mid-1980's was never dedicated to and accepted by the municipality. An easement to the public "for use and purpose of a public road" was recorded, but there is no record of formal acceptance by the city (other than the city's maintenance of the street). The housing development served by the street is not platted. There is also a waterline running along the street for which I've not found an easement. There are now 8-10 homes served by the street/waterline. I would prefer that the property owners go ahead and have the area platted. I doubt the governing body will want to require that, though. Would a roadway dedication and utility easement executed by all current property owners be the easiest solution? Any other ideas or concerns? Thanks Kim Spady

K

Kim@spadylaw.com

Tue, Sep 7, 2021 10:26 PM

Thanks, Rick. This is very helpful. It's good to see my dear friend Doug
Todd's name on the opinion.

Kim

From: Rick Knighton Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov
Sent: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 3:24 PM
To: 'Kim@spadylaw.com' Kim@spadylaw.com; 'OAMA Luistserv'
oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: EXTERNAL EMAIL : Street - Small Municipality

In our Ashton Grove saga of litigation, the developer attempted to use the
lack of a statutory dedication of a lift station as leverage to get some
other concessions from the City. When this didn't work, he submitted the
issue to court. The City argued that there was a statutory dedication that
resulted in fee ownership by the City. Alternatively, the City argued that
there was a common law dedication that resulted in an easement. The
district court ruled that there was a statutory dedication. The Court of
Civil Appeals reversed. The OCCA held that there was a common law
dedication - i.e., An implied dedication arises by operation of law based on
the acts of the property owner. The OCCA opinion is attached and the
discussion regarding the lift station begins on pg. 30. While it is not
clear whether the property owners intended to dedicate the street in the
mid-1980's, you assert that the City did maintain the street. This along
with evidence regarding use of the property as a public street is probably
sufficient to constitute a common law dedication. The same may be true for
the waterline.

Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman

201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070

' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | * mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov
rick.knighton@normanok.gov | * http://www.normanok.gov/ www.normanok.gov

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman,
Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the
attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended
only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not
waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually
receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named
recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named
recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the
communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in
error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

From: Kim@spadylaw.com mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com <Kim@spadylaw.com
mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com >
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2021 2:43 PM
To: 'OAMA Luistserv' <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org >
Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] Street - Small Municipality

Small city recently realized that a street that has been considered a public
street since the mid-1980's was never dedicated to and accepted by the
municipality.

An easement to the public "for use and purpose of a public road" was
recorded, but there is no record of formal acceptance by the city (other
than the city's maintenance of the street).

The housing development served by the street is not platted. There is also
a waterline running along the street for which I've not found an easement.

There are now 8-10 homes served by the street/waterline. I would prefer that
the property owners go ahead and have the area platted. I doubt the
governing body will want to require that, though. Would a roadway
dedication and utility easement executed by all current property owners be
the easiest solution?

Any other ideas or concerns?

Thanks

Kim Spady

Thanks, Rick. This is very helpful. It's good to see my dear friend Doug Todd's name on the opinion. Kim From: Rick Knighton <Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov> Sent: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 3:24 PM To: 'Kim@spadylaw.com' <Kim@spadylaw.com>; 'OAMA Luistserv' <oama@lists.imla.org> Subject: [Oama] Re: EXTERNAL EMAIL : Street - Small Municipality In our Ashton Grove saga of litigation, the developer attempted to use the lack of a statutory dedication of a lift station as leverage to get some other concessions from the City. When this didn't work, he submitted the issue to court. The City argued that there was a statutory dedication that resulted in fee ownership by the City. Alternatively, the City argued that there was a common law dedication that resulted in an easement. The district court ruled that there was a statutory dedication. The Court of Civil Appeals reversed. The OCCA held that there was a common law dedication - i.e., An implied dedication arises by operation of law based on the acts of the property owner. The OCCA opinion is attached and the discussion regarding the lift station begins on pg. 30. While it is not clear whether the property owners intended to dedicate the street in the mid-1980's, you assert that the City did maintain the street. This along with evidence regarding use of the property as a public street is probably sufficient to constitute a common law dedication. The same may be true for the waterline. Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | * <mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> rick.knighton@normanok.gov | * <http://www.normanok.gov/> www.normanok.gov This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. From: Kim@spadylaw.com <mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com> <Kim@spadylaw.com <mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com> > Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2021 2:43 PM To: 'OAMA Luistserv' <oama@lists.imla.org <mailto:oama@lists.imla.org> > Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] Street - Small Municipality Small city recently realized that a street that has been considered a public street since the mid-1980's was never dedicated to and accepted by the municipality. An easement to the public "for use and purpose of a public road" was recorded, but there is no record of formal acceptance by the city (other than the city's maintenance of the street). The housing development served by the street is not platted. There is also a waterline running along the street for which I've not found an easement. There are now 8-10 homes served by the street/waterline. I would prefer that the property owners go ahead and have the area platted. I doubt the governing body will want to require that, though. Would a roadway dedication and utility easement executed by all current property owners be the easiest solution? Any other ideas or concerns? Thanks Kim Spady

K

Kim@spadylaw.com

Tue, Sep 7, 2021 10:27 PM

Thanks, Jon.

Unfortunately, the easement is expressly limited to a roadway. I am afraid
I need to have all of the property owners sign off on a utility easement.
But I agree, I can't imagine any of them would object.

Kim

From: Jon Miller JMiller@cityofmustang.org
Sent: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 3:28 PM
To: Kim@spadylaw.com; 'OAMA Luistserv' oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: Street - Small Municipality

Kim,

You might consider putting the road easement on an agenda for acceptance by
the City so that, at a minimum, the city has the road dedication formally
accepted. I would then do some research to determine whether the grant of
an easement for public road purposes would include the right to lay public
utilities within the road right-of-way. Of course, one would think that the
adjacent owners would want the city to maintain the street and to continue
to provide water service.

Jonathan E. Miller

City Attorney

City of Mustang

1501 N. Mustang Road

Mustang, Oklahoma 73064

Telephone: (405) 376-7746

Facsimile: (405) 376-7721

This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is
privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please
notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments.
If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you
should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a
loss of the attorney-client privilege.

From: Kim@spadylaw.com mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com <Kim@spadylaw.com
mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com >
Sent: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 2:43 PM
To: 'OAMA Luistserv' <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org >
Subject: [Oama] Street - Small Municipality

Small city recently realized that a street that has been considered a public
street since the mid-1980's was never dedicated to and accepted by the
municipality.

An easement to the public "for use and purpose of a public road" was
recorded, but there is no record of formal acceptance by the city (other
than the city's maintenance of the street).

The housing development served by the street is not platted. There is also
a waterline running along the street for which I've not found an easement.

There are now 8-10 homes served by the street/waterline. I would prefer that
the property owners go ahead and have the area platted. I doubt the
governing body will want to require that, though. Would a roadway
dedication and utility easement executed by all current property owners be
the easiest solution?

Any other ideas or concerns?

Thanks

Kim Spady

Thanks, Jon. Unfortunately, the easement is expressly limited to a roadway. I am afraid I need to have all of the property owners sign off on a utility easement. But I agree, I can't imagine any of them would object. Kim From: Jon Miller <JMiller@cityofmustang.org> Sent: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 3:28 PM To: Kim@spadylaw.com; 'OAMA Luistserv' <oama@lists.imla.org> Subject: [Oama] Re: Street - Small Municipality Kim, You might consider putting the road easement on an agenda for acceptance by the City so that, at a minimum, the city has the road dedication formally accepted. I would then do some research to determine whether the grant of an easement for public road purposes would include the right to lay public utilities within the road right-of-way. Of course, one would think that the adjacent owners would want the city to maintain the street and to continue to provide water service. Jonathan E. Miller City Attorney City of Mustang 1501 N. Mustang Road Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 Telephone: (405) 376-7746 Facsimile: (405) 376-7721 This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege. From: Kim@spadylaw.com <mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com> <Kim@spadylaw.com <mailto:Kim@spadylaw.com> > Sent: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 2:43 PM To: 'OAMA Luistserv' <oama@lists.imla.org <mailto:oama@lists.imla.org> > Subject: [Oama] Street - Small Municipality Small city recently realized that a street that has been considered a public street since the mid-1980's was never dedicated to and accepted by the municipality. An easement to the public "for use and purpose of a public road" was recorded, but there is no record of formal acceptance by the city (other than the city's maintenance of the street). The housing development served by the street is not platted. There is also a waterline running along the street for which I've not found an easement. There are now 8-10 homes served by the street/waterline. I would prefer that the property owners go ahead and have the area platted. I doubt the governing body will want to require that, though. Would a roadway dedication and utility easement executed by all current property owners be the easiest solution? Any other ideas or concerns? Thanks Kim Spady

JE

Jeff Edwards

Mon, Sep 13, 2021 9:14 PM

Does anyone have a document they created for acceptance of an easement for
purpose of a public road. After reading this string, I would like to have
a formal acceptance document to record with the easement. Any help would
be appreciated.

Jeff Edwards

jeff@jeffedlaw.com

On Tue, Sep 7, 2021 at 2:42 PM Kim@spadylaw.com wrote:

Small city recently realized that a street that has been considered a
public street since the mid-1980’s was never dedicated to and accepted by
the municipality.

An easement to the public “for use and purpose of a public road” was
recorded, but there is no record of formal acceptance by the city (other
than the city’s maintenance of the street).

The housing development served by the street is not platted. There is
also a waterline running along the street for which I’ve not found an
easement.

There are now 8-10 homes served by the street/waterline. I would prefer
that the property owners go ahead and have the area platted. I doubt the
governing body will want to require that, though. Would a roadway
dedication and utility easement executed by all current property owners be
the easiest solution?

Any other ideas or concerns?

Thanks

Kim Spady

--
Oama mailing list -- oama@lists.imla.org
To unsubscribe send an email to oama-leave@lists.imla.org

--

Jeffrey L. Edwards |
Attorney at Law

FLYNN, EDWARDS, & O'NEAL, PLLC
105 East Ray Fine Blvd, Suite N
P.O. Box 170
Roland, OK 74954
P: 918-323-4351 | F: 918-518-0504
jeff@flynnedwardsoneal.com

CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: In compliance with the requirements imposed by the
IRS pursuant to IRS Circular 230, you are hereby informed that any U.S. Tax
advice contained in the foregoing communication (including attachments) is
not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of
(i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code; or (ii) promoting,
marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter
addressed herein.

The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to
which it is addressed and may contain confidential or privileged material.
Any review, distribution, or other unauthorized use of the information by
persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If
you received this communication in error, please contact the sender and
delete the material from any computer.

Does anyone have a document they created for acceptance of an easement for purpose of a public road. After reading this string, I would like to have a formal acceptance document to record with the easement. Any help would be appreciated. Jeff Edwards jeff@jeffedlaw.com On Tue, Sep 7, 2021 at 2:42 PM <Kim@spadylaw.com> wrote: > Small city recently realized that a street that has been considered a > public street since the mid-1980’s was never dedicated to and accepted by > the municipality. > > > > An easement to the public “for use and purpose of a public road” was > recorded, but there is no record of formal acceptance by the city (other > than the city’s maintenance of the street). > > > > The housing development served by the street is not platted. There is > also a waterline running along the street for which I’ve not found an > easement. > > > > There are now 8-10 homes served by the street/waterline. I would prefer > that the property owners go ahead and have the area platted. I doubt the > governing body will want to require that, though. Would a roadway > dedication and utility easement executed by all current property owners be > the easiest solution? > > > > Any other ideas or concerns? > > > > Thanks > > Kim Spady > > > -- > Oama mailing list -- oama@lists.imla.org > To unsubscribe send an email to oama-leave@lists.imla.org > -- *Jeffrey L. Edwards* | *Attorney at Law* *FLYNN, EDWARDS, & O'NEAL, PLLC* 105 East Ray Fine Blvd, Suite N P.O. Box 170 Roland, OK 74954 P: 918-323-4351 | F: 918-518-0504 jeff@flynnedwardsoneal.com CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: In compliance with the requirements imposed by the IRS pursuant to IRS Circular 230, you are hereby informed that any U.S. Tax advice contained in the foregoing communication (including attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code; or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential or privileged material. Any review, distribution, or other unauthorized use of the information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this communication in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer.