Metal detecting sidewalks legal?
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- Опубліковано 16 жов 2011
- This is a conversations that I had with a cop of me trying to figure out who owns the property between the sidewalk and the road. Let me know what you think. Do you hunt sidewalks?
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I’ve had the cops called 3 times when I was curb strip hunting. Each time the cops arrived, spoke with me and told the complainers to leave me alone.
Sidewalks are awesome but I always feel like someone is going to call the cops or yell at me
Chris Trabant same
An easement is a property right (not physical property itself). (use rights, mineral rights, etc. - there are a myriad of rights that can exist that are intangible )
The property right conveyed by an easement is limited to specific purposes depending on the wording of the easement deed.
The original owner of the physical property may still use that land in any way he/she wishes SO LONG AS it does not interfere with the purposes of the easement.
Also, easements are reversionary by nature - meaning that when the easement is abandoned (no longer used for the purposes for which it was created) then those rights "revert" to the land owner. (technically, it doesn't revert, but is simply extinguished)
Example, a farmer cannot grow crops on a minimum maintenance road even though the road may be virtually unusable. But if the road is "vacated", then the farmer has full right to grow crops there since that can no longer interfere with a "road purpose".
Most easements that are created as a "right of way" are limited to "public travel"(i.e. road) and public utilities.
public travel like walking down the sidewalk and public exercise of hobbies like digging for coins are not equatable. One is related to "public travel", the other is not. Without the private property owner's permission, there is no "public right" to dig for coins. And the holder of the public easement cannot grant additional easements for other purposes - only the private property owner can do that - so if a private cable utility want to use the area, they would have to get permission from the land owner as well.
Super nice guy. great advice also. I enjoyed the info as well.
thanks for sharing
Tom in SC
Nice info... Thanks for posting.
Good talk . Good info...
I dug up three silvers,while you talked to that cop...way to distract him...R.D.D.
That is one SUPER COOL Cop! Strips are Not the City's... The Officer said it belongs to the Owner. Easement only.
I just wear a orange vest and they think I'm a work detail. Never had a problem never been asked
What a sweet police officer. The guy pretty much says yeah and no at the same time. Which means you can do it until the police are called.
It all depends how your communities were set up when they built the subdivision. In our town here in Alaska the city can develop the land to your property line but no further unless they need it, when this occurs, they must have a public council meeting with input from the local community and a final council vote as to whether they will buy the needed land from the property owner at fair market value.
Most of my neighbors are pretty good about me digging from the sidewalk out to the road. They are usually interested in what I find. I've had several invite me to dig the rest of the yard.
Very responsible of you to ask. I know that here in the Boston area sidewalks are owned by the city UNLESS the road is a private way. In that case, the property owners own to the middle of the road. Nonetheless, when I am out somewhere on trash day "picking" for goods I always ask if the owner is outside. No one has ever had an issue as long as I keep things neat.
I just called the police and they redirected me to public works, they said oh sure it's no problem. I just don't dig manicured lawns.
Looking at your video and seeing the condition of the grass in the ROW I can see why alot of people in the area may get upset with you digging, that grass is NICE!! looks like a well taken care of lawn, if you were to go somewhere where there were a bunch of weeds and dead grass then people probably would not care.
sounds like he was a cool cop :) i just love gray areas :)
In the UK it is generally council land unless the whole road is private. You have right of access on council land but only access, nothing else. Only utility companies can dig to access their property. Try digging ANYWHERE that does not belong to you or without permission and you could be in trouble as regards criminal damage plus if it is private land then you cannot legally keep what you may find unless the owner allows it.
What that cop says can vary depending on where you live.
Man those were some crappy looking curb strips, just a bunch of weeds and dirt. You handled that ball buster very well, hope you dig up a gold coin in the near future for dealing with such annoyances.
All the strips I know are on the city right of way which includes the sidewalk. Property stakes are on the owners side of the sidewalk.
You will find that Alaskans fiercely defend their property rights, whether it be a public or private intruder! It's one of the many reasons I love living here, land ownership is a very personal thing to all of us pioneers in this great land. A lot of thought went into developing our local laws in an attempt to eliminate the problems common to the lower 48, it was and is still like a fresh start with fresh thinking.
Wow Thats Crazy I hunt them all the time. I guess I never thought about it before. Sometimes the homeowners will come out and ask what I'm doing. I tell them I am looking for old coins and relics form the past. After talking about it for a while they ask me if I want to search there yard even before I get a chance to ask them.
Typically, it's a public right of way and/or easement. However, the property owner owns it, taxed on it and is charged with maintaining that area (mowing the grass,weeding, watering, etc). So with that, you'd be trespassing if they complained. An easement allows utility companies to have legal access to maintain their equipment and lines. On my property, the electric utility lines that feed my home runs along the fence line on my sided of the fence. I cannot prevent the utility company from accessing their lines. In some towns, the property owner is required to maintain the sidewalk and pay to have it replaced it if needed. It varies by local ordinances.
I got hollered at recently for hunting these strips, even though they were torn up by the township replacing water mains. Haha, go figure. I kept right on hunting, the cops were not called and the water guys even asked if I could locate a water stop box for them, I did and they kindly stuck up for me by telling the rest of the complainers that I was working for them. No more smart A's came out.
Do you get permission in writing, or just verbal? Just curious.. :) always a thumbs up for you.
I love curbs!
On my street the city owns 17 feet from the center of the road, usually its 33 feet, some areas 8 feet from the curb...both homeowner and city maintains it, if your digging you are damaging the property, or causing harm, therefore at fault.
Its best to ask for permission... more ethical... and doesn't give the hobby a bad name.
...Most people don't like seeing a dog crap on their yard, nevermind someone digging holes...just my two cents from a fellow detector.
I always thought it was the home owners property but city officials like police, ems, water management and even private electric companies have the right to use it without permission for emergency reasons like power lines down or water main breaks.
The green belt in our area is owned by the city, so as there are no laws on the books regarding metal detecting on city land unless otherwise posted , it is public property and available for detecting as long as we are not destroying the grass or any other activity deemed vandalism. Shame your area is set up that way, because you know there is always a concentration of coins in that green belt.
I hunt them all the time...been hitting them for a year and have never been run off....i get more permission to hunt yards that way than any other....hope that helps...
WOW, I have NEVER talked to a cop that long about anything, It should have been a quick and simple answer. Man just put on a city worker vest and do it! Whats the Owner gonna say? Hey you! Stop doing your job. lol ( even know we both know its not your job ) lol Just looks better.
I feel you. I have a great many sidewalks over the years with never having a problem. It might be because the sidewalks where I hunt are usually not in the front of a home or business but are usually blocked from view with brick/stone walls or tall shrubs. There are a lot of people out there that do not understood what our hobby is all about. Some are just green with envy because we are doing what they have always wanted to do. One thing to remember is to always respond professionally when approached by a citizen or officer of the court. Our hobby is already trying to shed some of the negative views toward us. I just subscribed. Please check out my information and educational 33 minute video at Preserving Dallas History Thru Metal Detecting and do subscribe. Thanks
It is a right of way BUT the home owner owns the property and pays taxes on said property so you need to ask permission from the home owners. If you don't them 1st it leaves a bad taste in their mouths so to speak about metal detecting and the hobby in general. That is a bad thing. That makes us all look bad in their eyes. You never know they could be the one that own that killer property you want to get on someday and then you just blew it. Always Always ask b4 you dig period. Not trying to sound mean but that's my thoughts. By the way I do like your videos. keep em coming.
Depends on the city and the country. I lived in a city in Calif where the city had title to land from center of roadway to one foot outside (closer to the home) the sidewalk. The city tried to force homeowners to repair broken sidewalks and they got smacked by concerned citizens who showed that the city owned that property, not the homeowners.
Most cities the city only has an easement, some cities own that land. It's a case by case thing.
You actually paid attention! Why not ask? It opens doors. If you get a nice person they will give you some leads and introduce you. Hunting a site is random... If you have storys of lost items you have direction!
Why do they always have that weary, 'don't bug me' tone of voice? I agree, the cop doesn't know what he's talking about. But he has some great clichés!
I hunt between sidewalks and curbs all the time..the city owns it most of the time and if there is no ordinance against it you can detect it..the cop is wrong...in most place at least here in ohio your lot pins for your property is on the house of the side walk...the home owner does not own the curb area but is required to take care of it..if someone asks me to move along I just move along...and I be the cop really want to deal with us calling to report all the lost stuff we find
Don't cut the grass or shovel the sidewalk and who's responsible? Nice try. Cop is 100% correct... I dare you to tell him he's wrong...LOL If you ask you avoid the problems .
Evidently each city is different. Cops have told me it's city property & I can detect it all I want.
BS on the cops part. the land IS the cities on the land title survey it is shown NOT to be the home owners property. that being said it is the land owners responsibility to maintain the grass. At least in Canada anyway.
You can't make a blanket statement that covers all properties in USA.
Researching the paper trail - i.e., documents at the Register of Deeds is the only sure way to know who owns the property. I own to the center of the highway in front of my house, the city was granted a 30 foot easement to use for "public travel" purposes.
I can use the land any way I wish so long as I do not interfere with the purpose of the easement.
Anyone else who uses that property for anything other than public travel can be held to be trespassing (such as diggin for coins without my permission)
Mark....Canada? As D.I. Hartman says...."only 2 things"
sounds like his cop was talking circles because he ad no dam clue what he law was and he didn't want to say "I'm not sure if you can dig or not"
I think it would be easier to ask permission to dig that little strip of land than their whole lot. As a land owner and a tax payer I'd be pissed off if you didn't at least ask me, especially if you don't know how to make your dug spot clean and nice. I pay the tax to the center of the road you don't. Only the government has the ability to access with out my permission.
@@IowaGoldProspectors don't need to ask it ain't your property
Homeowner owns that land. They pay the taxes for it. City has rites to put in utilities for water lines, sewers, telephone poles, ECT. . Public has the rite to walk not to loiter or destroy. Taking something from someone's land they pay taxes on is theft. Sooooo..........?
Jesus dude do some research