BERLIN – A deed of perpetual easement will resolve an access issue created by a Maple Avenue development.
Developers of the Willows at Berlin have worked with a neighboring property owner to reestablish access to their property after it was inadvertently eliminated when the apartments were being built. Mark Cropper, the attorney for the Stoll family, which owns the neighboring property, said he was pleased a solution had been reached without litigation.
“It was important to ensure the Stolls continue to have unrestricted access to a piece of property they’ve owned for an extended period of time,” Cropper said. “Fortunately, that access is now guaranteed by the deed of perpetual easement and the developer is able to utilize its property as contemplated.”
According to Cropper, when the Willows at Berlin was nearing construction in 2020, developers asked the town to convey a portion of municipal property, including the roadbed near the project, to enhance the project. Town officials eventually agreed to convey the 11,000 square foot piece of property to the developer. As that transfer was being approved, a public works agreement was being drafted and the project was permitted and built, however, access to the Stoll property, which was next to the Willows property on the north side of Maple Avenue, was eliminated. The family contacted Cropper when they went to visit their roughly 8-acre piece of property and realized they couldn’t get to it.
In an effort to resolve the issue without going to court, Cropper said he spent months working with the developer’s legal team to come up with a solution, which in the end was decided upon as a deed of perpetual easement. It guarantees that the Stolls will continue to have unlimited and unrestricted access to their property for its development which can be as extensive as the law allows, and this includes connecting to utilities within Maple Avenue.
“It’s a perpetual easement from the developer to the Stolls that allows them to connect to any utilities presently or in the future that would be necessary for them to develop their property,” Cropper said. “The developer has also agreed to build and pave a 15-foot drive from the existing Maple Avenue to their property.”
Cropper said he was grateful for the cooperation of the developer in resolving the oversight.
“The developer gets the benefit of its investment and my clients are able to develop their property to the fullest extent,” he said.
