In residential neighborhoods, where do public and private properties begin and end? Does personal property end at the street? Does it vary from place to place?
It does vary from place to place, but in general, property lines do not extend to the street. In most places, the municipality controls everything between the sidewalk and the curb. Here’s one example, but I think this is fairly typical:
What are you referring to exactly? The vast majority residential streets are public streets just like any other. The street is public and the driveways are private. Sidewalks are public but may technically still be on a homeowner’s land. However, there are some subdivisions and neighborhoods where the streets themselves are private. This is common in gated communities but occurs in other types of neighborhoods as well. Private roads are usually marked as private with a sign.
It depends on the place. For example, in DC, the area from the curb right up to your front porch is public property. Example. Property owners still have responsibility to take care of the public areas that include the front yard, tree box, and to some extent the sidewalk.
Obviously, not all municipalities define the line between private and public property the same as DC.
If it’s a public road, then the paved street is public property. I believe the unpaved area next to the street (not including any gravel shoulder) is or can be privately owned property, but the municipality typically retains easement rights for the first ~10 feet of privately owned land next to the street, so as to be able to access buried utilities. In other words, you can landscape that easement area with trees and planters and such, but you have no right to compensation if the city comes along and tears it up so they can get at the wiring and plumbing buried below.
Under the common law, ownership of property extended to the center line of the street. In 1836 Illinois adopted the Plat Act, which changed the common law if the plat of subdivision strictly followed the Act. I suppose, but don’t know, that most states have similar laws. An interesting case in Chicago with reference to the ownership of Monroe St. was decided not too long ago, concluding that 1st National Bank had title to the center of Monroe St., and that the City of Chicago had only an easement, entitling the bank to have underground vaults and skyways with no rental charges. This was discussed on this board a few months ago.
If the plat does not comply with the Plat Act (and because that act is contrary to the common law, it is strictly construed), the municpality does not get title, but only an easement for a public right-of-way.
If the public way (street, alley, etc.) is not dedicated by a plat of subdivision, it could have been dedicated by a simple Plat of Dedication. Most of those plats do not comply with the Act.
A determination as to the extent of the street is made by reference to the plat creating it. Sometimes a municipality will condemn property for public purposes. If the fee simple title is sought in such condemnation, that’s what the city gets. Sometimes only an easement is sought.
In any event, even if the adjoining owner retains the fee to the sidewalk or other property abutting the title of the city, the city, under its police powers, had broad authority to regulate the use thereof for the public good.
In Canada, I’ve seen variations that the city owns from 6 feet to 10 feet in from the curb on most residential streets. Basically, positions of the property lines are laid out on the deed and property register (which registers who owns what proeprty).
Keep in mind, in the land of the free and home of the brave, neighbourhood streets might belong to the local neighbourhood association; that gives the management committee the right to deny persons who do not live there permission to be on their private property. (IIRC - this from an earlier thread on neighbourhood convenants that come with the land?)
I’m guessing that the OP is trying to find out if the parking space(s) in front of his house are for his personal use or if they are open to the public. I’m guessing this because there have been a few times that I’ve thought indignantly, “Someone is parking in MY space in front of MY house!” But then I’ve had to remind myself that it’s a public street. In some crowded jurisdictions, like DC, there may be residential parking permits but I don’t know how common that is. It’s certainly not the case out here in my Ohio town of 25,000 population.
Not even that. In the neighborhoods I work in, their are wide streets where people park their cars. Sometimes I pull over to make a phone call, text, or use google maps. It’s not uncommon for people on the street to stare me down, call the cops, or even walk up to me and ask me to leave. The thing that really pisses me off is that I park between houses and usually houses in which no body is at home, but then you have some busy body across the street or a few houses down to want to start trouble.
I want to know my rights before I tell the next person who does this to fuck off.
I wonder if some areas might have laws/rules/policies against loitering, possibly to discourage drug dealers and such.
See Homeowner association - Wikipedia
If the street is a private property of a home owner’s association, then the HOA may impose whatever rules it likes.
I suppose someone who is a member can chime in here and tell us what rules they can and cannot enforce wrt parking or stopping, and what the rules typically are. Usually this would only apply to residential sidestreets in the development, not major throughfares.
But I would assume that a parking ticket cannot be enforced unless there is a specific sign (either on the road, or at the entrance to the community) that explicitly states the parking or stopping rules. Hiowever, nothing that a HOA gets away with would surprise me based on an earlier thread. The comon complaint is that the local committees are often managed by busybody little Hitlers, the same people who would complain because you have stopped your car in their view.
In nearly all US neighborhoods, the entire area from sidewalk to sidewalk (inclusive) was dedicated as public right of way by the subdivider. There are some areas where the public property extends a few feet into what appears to be a private front yard, and there are a few areas where the road out front crosses private property on an easement. And there are subdivisions with private streets under the control of a homeowners association. But the sidewalk-to-sidewalk condition probably covers 80 percent of US city and suburban areas.
The Wikipedia article is defective in many ways. Shelley v. Kramer did not keep such restrictions alive even in “private contracts,” whatever that may mean. That case held that such restrictions were unenforceable by any court, but were valid between the parties. However, no party can bring an action to enforce such a restriction.
Condomiums also have HOAs. I am familiar with a condo HOA, as I live in a condo and was president of its HOA for a time. States have statutes governing condos. The HOA is not incorporated. It is merely an associaion of home owners elected to govern and manage the condo. Usually, a property manager is elected by the HOA to actually do the governing and managing (establsihing a budget, approval of expenses, etc.). They are not a bunch of Hitlers, but owners of some of the units elected by all the unit owners at an anual meeting. They take the time to meet monthly, discuss problems, make decisions, etc. Although the manager may suggest certain actions, in pursuant to the declaration and by-laws set up for the condo, the ultimate decisions are made by the HOA. Most owners do not want to be on the board as it is time consuming. Although complaints may be made to the president of the HOA (and believe me unit owners have many complaints), such complaints are forwarded to the manager for action. The property manager is usually a corporation which manages many HOAs, both condos and otherwise.
Or the neighborhood has issues with and/or fears of people casing houses to see if anyone is home for the purposes of burglary and the like. If they’ve had a fair amount of burglaries - or nearby neighborhoods have - they’ve probably been told (even by police or local politicians) to be on the lookout for such behavior.
If you’re waiting there long enough for someone to not only notice but also ask you to move the fuck along, you’re probably waiting too long. Try parking in a business district instead.
In some places, when roads are created for new housing subdivisions/developments the specifics of the road construction, width, paving, drainage, setbacks to property lines, etc. must be granted approval by the city or town’s planning or zoning board, but the road remains private, with the developer responsible for snow plowing, trash pickup and maintenance unless or until the city or town votes to accept the new road as a public way.
This is what we’ve come to, I suppose, that people get agitated when there is a car on the street in front of their house? Not sure why someone should feel an obligation to accommodate that sense of entitlement/paranoia when they are legally parked on a public street.
If a homeowner is truly suspicious they should call the police. I have posted before about an incident where I observed an unknown vehicle outside my neighbors house a couple of days in a row, with the driver clearly watching what was going on. I called the police who came, talked to the guy, then left. The officer called me and said the guy was okay, not a burglar. Then the guy in the car came to knock on my door, handed me his business card, and explained that he was an investigator looking into an allegation of insurance fraud.
If diamonds02 is working and people are hassling him/her, the homeowners need to be told politely to bugger off.
If the street is private, owned by the HOA, then I presume it falls into the same situation as a mall or other public place, where the owner (HOA) can enforce petty trespassing rules (“you are not longer wecome here…”). Again, I’m not sure how parking tickets or towing rules play into this, but I assume for parking rules to be enforced the explicit rules must either be signed right there in view, or perhaps at every entrance to the prvate subdivision.
Telling the wrong person to bugger off may get you banned from the neighbourhood unless you are there at the invitation of one of the residents.