Will the homeowner be liable for damages caused by construction or failure of the levee?
The property owner would not be liable for construction or actions of the District related to the easement and its improvement constructed therein.
Archives: FAQs
What about an accident during construction or maintenance of the levee?
The District will become liable for incidents that occur within its easement during and after construction of the project with certain exceptions where the property owner or third party were negligent or purposely caused the incident.
How will liability after the easement be different than it is today?
The District has no permanent right to perform maintenance so acquiring a permanent easement will make the District responsible for the permissions and uses granted by the Easement Deed and carry the associated liability.
I do not understand how boundaries of the easement areas are to be determined and located onto the title report parcel map. Exactly who determines if the existing levee is actually on our property and exactly where it is located in relationship to the property boundaries on the ground and in the title report. Is this being done by a licensed surveyor?
The survey work is being done by a licensed surveyor. Matt Vander Dussen works for GHD. In 2019 Matt conducted a topographic survey of the project area using a combination of Drone LiDAR, photogrammetry, and traditional survey methods. One deliverable from this work was a digital shapefile of the levee/TRB centerline. In 2020 this work … Continued
Does the process involve physically staking out the title report parcel boundaries on the ground and then measuring the distance from the parcel boundary to the existing levee boundary?
This is not the method used to determine the spatial relationships, their locations were surveyed independently as described above, but having everything in digital format allows these areas and distances to be measured.
Surveys are absolutely crucial. We need to be confident of the process which locates our property lines and existing TRB boundary lines on the ground before any 10 foot wide easement negotiation begins. It also needs to be a process that would be accepted by existing lenders and by prospective lenders when we need to refinance or sell our property.
The survey was done according to best practice standards by licensed land surveyors.
Re the statement: “In lieu of staking, exhibits show the parcel boundary, proposed easements, levee centerline, and aerial imagery.” Does this mean that the parcel, and easement boundaries will be superimposed on an aerial photo?
Yes.
Does “easements” include the temporary construction easement as well as the permanent easement?
Yes.
There is a lot confusion, uncertainty, and fear regarding the location of the temporary easement.
It has been difficult to describe the temporary easements (TCE’s) in a generalized way because they will be negotiated and delineated based on the available space within backyards and side yards. This will be better understood after the appraisal meetings with homeowners in which potential work areas and impediment are identified. The District needs to … Continued
Will the temporary easement also be centered on the existing levee, or will it be 15 ft on the landside as shown in one diagram?
The TCE’s will not overlap the permanent easements, so it will be the latter.