I’d like to use this blog opportunity to give a broad overview of a variety of regulations that prospective real property purchasers should consider when acquiring a piece of property within City limits.
First, let’s discuss title insurance and surveys. Both of these tools enable property owners to know more about the property they are purchasing. When purchasing a new property, it is always a good idea to get title insurance for the transaction. This is because there may be easements, rights-of-way, agreements, or other documents that could affect your property. For example, the City has lots of utility easements throughout the City. One way these easements could affect your property would be if you wanted to build a fence over a portion of the property included in the easement. Because the City has to be able to access those utilities for maintenance and repairs, you would need permission from the City to build that fence over any portion of the City’s easement.
Surveys allow you to know exactly where your property lines are. For instance, many property owners within the City believe that they own the property all the way to the street; however, this is not the case. This is because the City owns the right-of-way for streets and utilities.
Many property owners do not know that even though the City owns rights-of-way that include most sidewalks, the private property owner is responsible for maintaining these sidewalks. Beatrice City Code Section 23-24 states that every property owner in the City is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the sidewalk abutting their property.
Next, when moving into a city, both business owners and homeowners should know how their property is zoned. The zoning designation of your property dictates the permissible uses of that property. For example, a person cannot buy a property that is zoned as residential and place a gas station on that property. For businesses, certain property may not be zoned for the particular business you would like to pursue. For homeowners, the zoning designation of your property affects the number of accessory structures, such as sheds, one can have on a single property and limits the size those structures can be. Knowing this ahead of time, acquiring permits prior to placing more structures on a property, or finding out the procedures for having your zoning designation changed can save one a lot of headaches by avoiding issues up from or solving them before they become expensive.
It is always better to know upfront how your property can be used and what limitations may be attached to the property. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of things that can affect the use of a piece of property, but it is a good start. And for prospective buyers who do not know where to start, you can always contact the City to help work through some of these rules and regulations.
Taylor Rivera
City Attorney