Note: The DearEsq free 'ask a lawyer' site is offered as a free informational service to the public and is not intended as legal advice. Laws vary from state-to-state, and in addition every situation is unique, and relevant facts may not be known. The answer to the question posed below may not apply to in your state or to your situation. For legal advice in your state and your situation you should consult with an attorney in your state who is familiar with the rules and laws in your state.
“Years ago a Water District acquired a residential parcel for construction of a water tank. The sale was forced under threat of eminent domain. The residential property has an easement for ingress/egress to an private road shared by over twenty other residential properties. All owners contribute toward the road maintenance. The Water District (public utility) now is permitting a cellular company (private business) to apply for County permits to construct a cellular antenna facility on the property. Can the Water District give permission to the cellular company to use the private road to install and maintain the cellular facility when all of the other easement holders are in opposition?”The answer to your question depends on whether the easement you were granted is “exclusive” or “non-exclusive,” and you’ll need to look at the easement grant to determine that.
Question: An exclusive easement grants the easement owner(s) the right to exclude all other possible users of the easement (including the burdened property owner). A non-exclusive easement gives the owner(s) the right to use someone else’s property, but other people can use it, too.If the document doesn’t specify, it’s probably non-exclusive, but that’s a question of fact and may be determined differently under different local laws.
Answer:
More likely than not, your easement is non-exclusive, which means that the property owner (the water district) can use the road itself, or grant other people, like the cellular company, the right to do so. That having been said, to the extent they do use it they probably need to contribute to the maintenance and repair costs, but again you will need to look at the easement document to see if it says anything about this.
