Hey, homeowners, did you realize you are doing a public service (at least in Spring, Summer and Fall)?

     Residential subdivision lot lines are usually several feet behind the curb. This is because the paved street only takes up a portion of the street right-of-way. The amount of right-of-way used varies due to paving width and the right-of-way width. The residential lot line and the street right-of-way are the same.

     On a typical residential subdivision street, the paved portion of the street is about 26 feet wide from curb to curb, and the street right-of-way is 50 feet wide. Assuming that the paving is centered in the right-of-way, this leaves 24 feet of unimproved right-of-way -- 12 feet of excess right-of-way from the edge of the actual paved portion of the street or curb-line to the lot line on each side of the street. However, some residential streets have 26 feet of paving and 60 feet of right-of-way (leaving 17 feet of excess on each side) or have 36 feet of paving and 60 feet of right-of-way (leaving 12 feet of excess on each side). Additionally, in some older subdivisions, the paved portion is not centered and the excess right-of-way may be several feet wider on one side than the other.

     Within this excess right-of-way from the edge of the paved portion of the street or curb-line to the lot line, you typically find public sidewalks, water lines and street lights, mail boxes, and in some instances, other utilities like gas, electric/telephone/cable TV and sewers for the common benefit of all residents and the public. Residents are usually allowed to “use” this excess right-of-way, but only so long as the residents’ use does not interfere with the municipalities’, utility providers’ or public’s use thereof.

     Municipalities’ “graciously allow” homeowners to mow, landscape and otherwise keep the municipalities’ excess rights-of-way looking nice (so it doesn’t have to at its own expense). So, homeowners, give your self a pat on the back! You are doing your small part of “public service” for your community!

     Charles R. Holladay, Esq., PLS

* Former Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson & Abraham Lincoln started out as Land Surveyors.

* Lewis & Clark surveyed one of the most well known real estate deals for President Jefferson – The Louisiana Purchase!

* Surveyors helped measure the distance of the earth to the moon within just a couple of feet by using reflector prisms that were placed on the moon by the first men who landed.

* A recent reassessment of Stonehenge gives indication that the monument was set by early surveyors using peg and rope geometry.

* Surveyors helped set the corners of the Great Pyramids by using basic mathematical principles.

* Surveyors were used to make sure the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads met together in Promontory Point, Utah to form the first transcontinental railroad.

* Surveyors used their high-precision GPS equipment to help locate the debris that was scattered over hundreds of miles from the disintegration of Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003. This information helped scientists reconstruct the accident.

* This 15 ft. concrete ‘X’ is Arizona’s cadastral survey marker that sits atop a 150 ft. summit known to locals as Rattlesnake Hill. The original marker was put in place in 1865 & the current one in 1984.