Ingress/Egress easment usage dispute, Can I use my property for anything other than?

[Chass]

My neighbor has an easement on my property that allows him to use a specific driveway for ingress and egress. My question is about what I can do with the property. I own parcel II and the section about my part of the agreement reads like this:

"Owner of Parcel II may construct, maintain and repair the roadway described above. The owner of Parcel II shall not block the roadway at any time without first obtaining the prior written agreement of the owner of Parcel I"

I park my boat on the roadway in question. The roadway is 43' wide for its entire length. The boat takes up 10' of the roadway. Minus some branches that overhang the roadway from his side, there is at least 25' of roadway for him to pass through. I'm not inhibiting his ability to pass through. IN my mind, I'm not "blocking" the roadway. My question is, can I continue to park my boat there legally?

For reference, his part of the easment is non-exclusive and states:

"Owner of Parcel I may not use the existing roadway for any other purpose than to provide ingress and egress as described above."

I took this to mean that my part of the easment doesn't necessarily stop me from parking on the easment so long as he can pass . . .

Thanks, in advance, for any help that you can provide.

Chass
ct

 

[bluemann33]

My neighbor has an easement on my property that allows him to use a specific driveway for ingress and egress. My question is about what I can do with the property. I own parcel II and the section about my part of the agreement reads like this:

"Owner of Parcel II may construct, maintain and repair the roadway described above. The owner of Parcel II shall not block the roadway at any time without first obtaining the prior written agreement of the owner of Parcel I"

I park my boat on the roadway in question. The roadway is 43' wide for its entire length. The boat takes up 10' of the roadway. Minus some branches that overhang the roadway from his side, there is at least 25' of roadway for him to pass through. I'm not inhibiting his ability to pass through. IN my mind, I'm not "blocking" the roadway. My question is, can I continue to park my boat there legally?

For reference, his part of the easment is non-exclusive and states:

"Owner of Parcel I may not use the existing roadway for any other purpose than to provide ingress and egress as described above."

I took this to mean that my part of the easment doesn't necessarily stop me from parking on the easment so long as he can pass . . .

Thanks, in advance, for any help that you can provide.

Chass
ct

I assume the other person is complaining about your boat? As long as they can pass through without obstruction,weather its a car or an 18 wheeler then you are fine. Sounds like you just have a confrontational neighbor. Good luck.

 

[Chass]

Thanks for your reply. He has been confrontational although this is only a "tool" according to him. He is trying to get something else out of this and using it for leverage.

I'm in no position to pay for an attorney at this time and he has already retained one. In fact, our agreement clearly states that either party MUST write a letter and send it via first class mail to the other to try and resolve any issues with our easement BEFORE involving an attorney. He didn't do that. Technically, its a breach of his own easement. Do I have any recourse on that?

Where would I start looking for a legal precedent that says "blocking" means to block passage rather than to put anything at all on the roadway? I'm going to need something to take to his lawyer or we may end up in court. In my conversation with his lawyer, he seemed pretty level headed and understanding of my position and I think he will try to help us come to an agreement that works for both of us but I wanted to know what leverage he really has in this situation.

Thanks,
Chass
ct