Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Oregon
Easement
My neighbor owns the fourteen foot wide road which accesses my property. There is an existing simple road access easement for the road which was recorded in 1970. The legal description of the easement is twenty feet wide. I want to compel my neighbor to allow me to pave a twenty foot wide road on his land (which I need to meet existing local road / building ordinance requirements for sub-dividing & developing my land). Do I have grounds for compelling him to allow me to do this, & if so, what procedures or recommendations need to be followed to compel him to do so?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Easement
My instinct tells me you may have a tough time, if indeed the easement was simply intended for access to your property as it existed in 1970, at the time of the grant, in contrast to access to a developed and subdivided parcel. On the other hand, if the grant was 20 feet, you should be able to use the entire 20 feet. The question remains, however, whether you can force the paving of that entire area even though it appears unnecessary purely for the originally intended access.
Whether you contact me or another attorney, it sounds like the stakes are potentially high enough to warrant a small budget($500-$1000) for some legal research to better determine what your rights may be. Also, a careful reading of the easement should be done.
I hope this at least helps clarify your thinking. Unfortunately, this is not a "slam dunk" question one can answer readily. If you want to speak with me, my telephone number is 503-241-5550. Good luck.
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