IANAJ, but as I understand, an eruv is a religiously sanctioned public area where Orthodox Jews are allowed to do certain things on Sabbath which they normally can only do in private residences. In a city typically the area is demarcated by utility poles, power lines and wire/twine which serve as symbolic “walls” and “doorways”.
A debate over setting up an eruv in London is discussed at length in this GD thread:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=130310&highlight=Eruv
In doing further reading I was surprised to learn that eruvim are widespread in the US, having been created in over 100 cities containing 10+ million people. I also read that creating an eruv involves “buying the rights to establish an eruv from the local government” and that resolutions are adopted by the government to faciliate all this:
http://www.baisyisroel.org/map_of_minneapolis_eruv.htm
My question is this: In creating an eruv, what “rights” are bought and who are they given to? Are legal contracts being signed and money exchanged, or is it more informal?
As a side question, what is the role of power companies- do they get paid to help set up eruv lines, or do they do it for free?
I hope I am not coming across as anti-eruv; I am genuinely curious about a phenomenon which is evidently widespread and affects millions yet is not well known. Thanks!