Tuesday, Jan 5, 2016 Project Review Committee Phone Meeting

It is my understanding that Michael-George wants permission to bring in a 20 by 20 foot building which he will use as a commercial art studio to train new artists. The problem is that Michael-George does not have direct access to any Glastonbury platted road. He must travel and his future customers must travel over a private easement that literally goes through a neighbor's front yard and borders their front porch. A few points to consider:

• The easement is on file at the County Court House and a copy should be provided for the public record. I understand that the easement grants the owner, in this case Micheal-George, the right to access his property via a private driveway that is fully owned by his neighbors.
  
• The neighbor's private driveway is bordered by gardens, lawn chairs and a picnic table. It is clearly used for relaxation and entertainment. Children sometimes play there, pets and free range chickens wander through the area. A 5 mph speed limit sign is posted.
  
• Legally, via a court order, Michael-George as owner of the adjoining parcel, is responsible for the maintenance of the easement. However his neighbors have shouldered the expense of maintaining the private driveway easement.
  
• The easement grants Micheal-George PRIVATE access to his property. It is an agreement that simply allows the owner of one parcel to cross the private property of another person. It does not state that he has commercial access or parking rights nor does it state that anyone can cross the neighbor's property.
  
• Micheal-George has used the easement to park vehicles on even though he is legally prohibited from doing so.
• I have witnessed Michael-George driving recklessly and above the speed limit on the easement many times. There is a sharp incline with a curve before his house. His 5,000 pound vehicle lacks decent snow tires and he does not plow the easement. Recently I saw him attempt to ascend the easement and spin out. Then he backed all the way up to the neighbor's front porch, floored it and recklessly spun and slid his 5,000 pound vehicle all the way up the hill to his house.
  

The issues that arise from this application as I understand it are:

• Does the GLA Board have a legal right to change the terms of an easement that runs over private property?
  
• If the GLA Board believes that it can change the terms of an easement is it prepared to accept responsibility for any lawsuit that may arise from a challenge?
•  Is the GLA Board prepared to accept liability for property and or personal damages caused by allowing an increase in vehicular traffic through a landowner's front yard via a private driveway easement?
  
• What is the precedent that the GLA will set if they change the terms of a private easement? How would their decision affect the quality of life for the neighbors and potentially for our entire community?
  

Cottage industry is clearly allowed via our Covenants. However that provision has been severally abused. In South Glastonbury SpecTec has 20+ employees that use our private road network daily. The owners are on record as stating that they have an agreement with a past owner of Glastonbury that exempts them from current  Covenants and allows them to have up to 33 employees. Their business has clearly harmed our roads. If Michael-George is allowed to run a commercial operation his business will adversely effect a neighbors right to privacy, peace and quiet. His reckless driving and lack of easement maintenance will only exacerbate the situation. If a neighbor's private property is allowed to be adversely impacted for the personal benefit of Michael-George then is it acceptable to allow a large industry to negatively impact our private roads for their benefit? What rights do the landowners have? These are issues that the GLA Board must grapple with and find a solution to.

One solution is to allow Micheal-George to build a 20 by 20 foot PRIVATE studio but only after he signs an explicit written and legally binding agreement that states it may not be used as a retail outlet, that he will honor the terms of the easement and he will properly maintain the easement in agreement with his neighbors. The agreement should reaffirm that the private easement does not allow for commercial traffic, parking and that the speed limit must be obeyed.
This solution would not set a precedent and if properly worded would minimize or even eliminate all legal liability for the GLA Board and consequently, the landowners.

I hope that the focus is on the entire community when this matter is debated by the Project Review Committee and by the GLA Board. This is not about Michael-George; it is about the future of our community, our rights to peace and quiet and our reasonable expectation that the GLA Board will never take an action that will harm our property values.

I have forwarded this post to the GLA Board on January 4th, 2016.