Dickinson Co. Supervisors Discuss Construction Of Buildings Over Drainage Easements
Dickinson Co. Supervisors Discuss Construction Of Buildings Over Drainage Easements
March 15, 2022Steve Schwaller
(Spirit Lake)– There was more discussion at today’s (Tues.) Dickinson County Board of Supervisors meeting regarding buildings that have been constructed on top of drainage easements, and a possible new tool that could help prevent that from happening in the future. County Recorder Ann Ditsworth says the tool is something her office could help develop…
“If you had the information on what the legal descriptions were in that drainage district, then we could index it accordingly and that would then show up on data that the abstract companies use to update abstracts. And so then it would be very clearly tied to a map that would be attached to the ownership of the property so that as that changes over time it still follows the land. And then as easements, anytime if you always then, going forward, if there’s a drainage district change, that just went simply on file, it would automatically be disseminated to all of those within that drainage district.”
Supervisor Tim Fairchild says having that information available to the public when they purchase land would be vital for several reasons…
“What I was envisioning being able to do here is get it set up so especially when you’re buying a piece of land, you immediately see this. So then, the only ignorance about building would be willful ignorance at that point. This absolutely does not diminish one bit my vision of the existing easements rights. And we’re going to have a lot of talk about that later. I don’t feel like I’m exceeding any of the authorities or easement opportunities that the drainage district has by doing this. I just want to help the general public who doesn’t understand what they’re getting into.”
Fairchild also made reference to a project about to get underway in Drainage District 50 on the north side of Milford, saying it’s a classic example of buildings that were constructed on top of easements. Based on a recent conversation he had with a drainage attorney, Fairchild says he’s under the opinion that landowners being assessed for a project shouldn’t have to pay more for any additional work that was required because of a building upstream that was constructed over an easement.
The supervisors will further discuss the issue next week.
