Letter to the Editor: Boulevard property rights are complicated

decorahnews.com reader Luther Snow responds to our recent article about the City of Dcorah's crackdown on political yard signs put up in the boulevard (http://www.decorahnews.com/news-stories/2012/09/3521.html)

"Thanks for the thought-provoking thing on boulevards.  It's a chance for clarity. 

The question of "who owns theproperty" with sidewalks and parkways is interesting.  It's my layperson's understanding that apiece of property isn't one thing but a bundle of rights that go alongwith a piece of land, such as occupancy rights, development rights, mineralrights, air rights, etc.  One person could own some of the rights andsomeone else own other rights attached to that land.

It's my understanding that a  "public easement" is apublic right-of-way on an otherwise privately-held piece of property.  We,the public, actually hold an easement over sidewalks and parkways, allowing usthe right to unobstructed access on otherwise private property.  Thisgives the City some rights over what happens on parkways, but doesn'tnecessarily justify or not justify the way that's currently implemented.

Interestingly, I guess Iowa is a state that grants a publiceasement for any trail or passageway across private property that is open andaccessible for 7 years or more.  This is why public trails (like thePhelps Park Trail and many hunting, biking, and fishing trails) are controlledby the public even when they cross private property."