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I'm planning on building a fence at a our new house in Durham. Its just a regular 6' privacy fence. Our lot is rather small at .23 acres and we have a 10' sewer easement running down the side (neighbor has a 10' easement on their side so its quite a wide easement) so that takes a big chunk out of our yard if we can't have a fence there. I can't find anything on the cities web site about if you can build on an easement. I'm ok with the risk of it being taken down, the chance of that happening I know is slim.
The other problem is the home owners association forms say that you can't build on an easement but I can't find that in the covenants anywhere so I was thinking it was a city ordinance and not just an hoa ordinance.
This fence thing is stressing me out. I never thought it would be an issue but now I think it is... We wouldn't have picked this lot if we knew we couldn't build a fence on a rather large part of the yard.
I think you're going to have difficulties building on that easement - I did a quick search on the Durham website and couldn't find anything specific. Best case you could build a fence, but it would get torn down if the sewer lines ever had to be accessed. But, if your HOA docs already say you can't build on the easement, I doubt they will approve your fence to be built there.
edit: Here's what Holly Springs has to say about utility easements -
News & Events, Holly Springs, NC (http://www.hollyspringsnc.us/news/2004/roway.htm - broken link)
I would call the city of Durham and ask. 560-1200. When we were looking at houses, I wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any issues with adding a screened porch at some point. My agent suggested I call the city planning department, I believe, to ask. If you call the One Call number above, they should be able to direct you. I spoke to a very nice gentleman who looked up the property and gave me lots of information about what was and was not allowed, distances from property lines, etc.
We had a similar situation with a sewer easement that was along our side property in one of our play houses. I went down and actually spoke to the town and also the employees who would be accessing the easement area. I asked them what type of equipment would be used and how large etc. They were very grateful to be involved. And in the end my fence went up, and the workers never had a problem gaining access or with any of the equipment they used. They only needed 2 1/2 feet, but I was happy with giving them 3 1/2 feet just to be sure down the road.
I'm planning on building a fence at a our new house in Durham. Its just a regular 6' privacy fence. Our lot is rather small at .23 acres and we have a 10' sewer easement running down the side...
Quote:
Originally Posted by autumngal
I went down and actually spoke to the town and also the employees who would be accessing the easement area. I asked them what type of equipment would be used and how large etc. They were very grateful to be involved. And in the end my fence went up, and the workers never had a problem gaining access or with any of the equipment they used. They only needed 2 1/2 feet, but I was happy with giving them 3 1/2 feet just to be sure down the road.
I have found, in my calls to the City of Durham, that most officials are very good at being quite helpful in helping you find clarity. I think working with people and the agencies they work with will do you just fine.
Autumngal's anecdote is quite wise, too. If the city or agency needs just a certain amount of feet, give them a little more wiggle room for the sake of them and yourself. Access issues occur all the time, and giving a little space allotted to compensate for the easement will help thwart potential aggravations.
With that said, if you intend on building a fence that crosses over, say, a sewer line easement, then maybe what you do is build a removable section should they ever need access. No aggravation for you to remove it, no aggravation for the easement holder to access it.
Also, remember that the property where the easement crosses is still property you own. It's in the best interest of all parties who have an interest in the easement to work together.
Thanks for all the responses. I did call the city and eventually got connected to the department of engineering. The first time I talked to them they said as long as I put a gate in that there was no issue. When I mentioned this to someone at work they said that the person misunderstood my question. I would be running the fence down over 90ft of an easement since its on the very edge of my yard, it wouldn't be just a matter of cutting off access. So I called a second time explaining this and they said that you can't build anything on a sewer easement directly.
So now I'm facing bringing the fence in 10ft or not telling the city or HOA that I'm building on the easement itself and taking the chance that it will never be touched. I like to play fair but I'm faced with a very small yard if I do.
I could wait until we close, then take the survey down to the city to talk to them in person like what was suggested. Maybe I would get more sympathy .
Thanks for all the responses. I did call the city and eventually got connected to the department of engineering. The first time I talked to them they said as long as I put a gate in that there was no issue. When I mentioned this to someone at work they said that the person misunderstood my question. I would be running the fence down over 90ft of an easement since its on the very edge of my yard, it wouldn't be just a matter of cutting off access. So I called a second time explaining this and they said that you can't build anything on a sewer easement directly.
So now I'm facing bringing the fence in 10ft or not telling the city or HOA that I'm building on the easement itself and taking the chance that it will never be touched. I like to play fair but I'm faced with a very small yard if I do.
I could wait until we close, then take the survey down to the city to talk to them in person like what was suggested. Maybe I would get more sympathy .
Weird. I live in Raleigh, but I have a fence along my back property line and so do all my neighbors. Yet, we all have a 20' sanitary sewer easement running along our backyards as well. The fence has is on the property line with 10' of the easement on either side. Here is a picture of the one in my backyard. I have a small lot as well!
This fence runs the entire length o my street splitting the 20' easmement in half (10' on my side and 10' on my neighbors side)
Thanks for all the responses. I did call the city and eventually got connected to the department of engineering. The first time I talked to them they said as long as I put a gate in that there was no issue. When I mentioned this to someone at work they said that the person misunderstood my question. I would be running the fence down over 90ft of an easement since its on the very edge of my yard, it wouldn't be just a matter of cutting off access. So I called a second time explaining this and they said that you can't build anything on a sewer easement directly.
So now I'm facing bringing the fence in 10ft or not telling the city or HOA that I'm building on the easement itself and taking the chance that it will never be touched. I like to play fair but I'm faced with a very small yard if I do.
I could wait until we close, then take the survey down to the city to talk to them in person like what was suggested. Maybe I would get more sympathy .
Maybe empathy. But it really comes down to law, rules and accessibility.
You definitely want someone to come out and find exactly where your sewer line is running. Public services should handle this as well as get you in touch with utility services that will do the same. An easement can run a wide area, too. But it shouldn't mean that you cannot place something movable or plant some ground cover over it. However, anything permanent sounds like you're preventing access.
It may be worth going down to the city and pull of a plot plan (or survey) of your property (or bring your copy if you have one). I'm sure they'll naturally go by the book, and although the folks down there in Durham can be quite courteous, I've encountered different answers at different times depending on how someone interpreted the information I delivered. Make sure you are clear in what you want to put up.
Of course, I imagine there's no way they'll allow a fence built on 'top' of the sewer line itself since allowing that opens up the line to digging damage.
You do need to pursue this, however. Ten feet seems to be a lot of land to lose. And it's a sewer line. I doubt they'll ever touch it in the foreseeable future. But, if they do, and the fence is in the way, you'll probably need to either dismantle it for the construction crews or release liability if damage is caused by the crews. This is all conjecture, mind you. I'm really not certain how tough they can be when push comes to shove. Just work with them the best you can. Appeal it if you must.
Of course, building anything without a permit that requires one is not a recommendation, I know many a people here already in the RDU area that have gone ahead and completed their benign plans with no harm, no foul to anyone. The city hasn't found out their work, yet, but HOA's, they can be nosy and you'll be hard pressed to get away with anything from them, especially a nose neighbor who is also on the board.
Ultimately, just don't pop a hole in that sewer line if you decide to go against the grain and be covert. You'll end up paying big time.
This fence runs the entire length o my street splitting the 20' easmement in half (10' on my side and 10' on my neighbors side)
Nice fence and build up, NRG. Wow. Looks like you have a well maintained lawn too. Great!
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