HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976 05-18 Land sold to city causes trespass woes, couple says DISPATCH 2(E) Sf.Paul Dispatch Tues., May 18, '76
Land sold to cit causes
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trespass woes, couple says
A Maplewood couple who "There are skiers,bicyclists and it was and allow us to keep the ing the water easement.
sold a strip of land to the city people walking through our public away.We will be neigh- Donald Lais, city attorney,
for$1 thinking it would be used front yard so close to the house borly about it." told the council the city can't
only for a water line got a sur- that it interferes with our priva- Zappa said pedestrian use has dispose of property without an
prise recently. cy. We have lost several small created a nuisance in that the appraisal,even it it paid only$1
Mr.and Mrs.John Oswald,of trees which were trampled." pedestrians do not remain on for the land about two years
1694 Demont Ave., discovered "If that happened to me, I'd the strip of land but trespass ago.
be up here screaming said across their private property. "We will have to have a pub-
City Councilman Burt Murdock "I feel as upset about it,"said lic hearing to vacate it," Lais
Maplewood r during y council meeting last Councilman Norman Anderson. said.
week. "If it's a water easement,people He said the council could or-
The Oswalds and their neigh- shouldn't walk on it." der the property closed as a
that the strip which goes by burs also bothered by the pedes- Mayor Robert Bruton said he public thoroughfare.
their house has become a walk- trian traffic, Joseph and Kath- understood the problem,but he "Am I getting an education,"
way used by the public to get to leen Zappa, 2522 Flandrau St., pointed out the city does own Murdock lamented. "You can
'and from the Four Seasons Park. asked the council to return the the property and the public is see why everybody fights city
And the Oswalds learned property acquired in 1973 to the using it. hall."
from the city that the public has Oswalds, with the exception of "IF WE ARE going to aban- One city staff member said
the legal right to use the strip of the underground watermain. don the easement,we will have fences could be built to keep the
land as a walkway. to do it all over Maplewood.We pedestrians on the path,but the
"WE DID NOT intend that "IT'S BEEN livable for 20 can't make an exception," Bru- Oswalds and Zappas said they
this land become apedestrian years, until people realized it ton said. don't want a fence that would
thorou hfarethe a s said was legal to go through the City Manager Michael Miller spoil the looks of their property.
g property,"Zappa told the coun- said incidents of pedestrians
in a letter to the city engineer. cil. "We ask you to return it as straying from the walkway and The staff will report to the
creating nuisances to adjoining council on June 17 to recom-
property owners have occurred. mend a solution. ,
BUT HE ADDED that the
director of community services
feels the walkway is needed to
provide access to the Four Sea-
sons Park for residents in the
Bittersweet Lane area.
Anderson made the motion,
and the council approved with
Murdock objecting, that the
staff be authorized to work with
the property owners to find a
solution to the problem.
Murdock wanted to return the
property to the Oswafds,with
the city retaining the water ease-
ment.