How to stop lot line adjustment that will destroy scenic view

[rleestma]

Hi all...

I'm hoping that someone can point me in the right direction on this...

I live on a cul-de-sac, right in the middle of the street on the top of a hill. My lot overlooks a lake across the street and down the hill, and it's one of the biggest reasons I bought the lot.

At the end of the cul-de-sac are three waterfront lots. They are 67' narrow on the road, and are pie shaped and widen significantly until they hit the lake. All three lots are on a bluff, with about 100'-150' of buildage depth for a house.

Across the street from my house lives my neighbor. He has a very wide lot, 300'. His father to the west owns one of these waterfront lots. I look over the west side of his lot to see the lake.

A buyer approached my neighbor's father to buy his lot. The lot was not big enough for his house, so he asked to buy 50' of property from my neighbor. They also need to move the drain that is under the existing lot line.

If this happens, my view will be gone. What can I do to prevent this? I've tried talking to my neighbor and my view and "views" have fallen on deaf ears.

Thanks for your help everyone,

Ryan

~Gedunker~ Ryan: I edited the thread title to be a little more specific about your topic: you'll get better responses this way and it follows our rules more closely. Our rules also require posting a thread once and only once: determine the most appropriate thread and place the thread there. If you are unsure about where to post a thread, feel free to contact a moderator and we'll be happy to help. Thanks and carry on!

[Chet]

My first planning boss 20 years ago put it very succinctly. If you want the view you have to BUY it. Sorry.

[JNA]

Originally posted by Chet

... very succinctly.
If you want the view you have to BUY it. Sorry.

Hearing an echo.

[Otis]

I agree with the earlier posters, but will offer some advice as well. First, check with the (city? county?) in which the lots are located to see what kind of ordinance standards there are. Is there a minimum lot width requirement? Length-to-width requirement? Minimum/maximum lot sizes allowed?

Then I'd check the subdivision approval. Did it set any relevant limitations? If conditions were set, are any of them helpful?

Is there a homeowners association and CC&Rs? Yes? What do they say about lot line adjustments?

You might get a title report (not title insurance, just a report on the condition of the title -- here it's called a "lot book report" and costs about $250) on your neighbor's property and see if there are any deed restrictions on the property. Look for easements. Heck there might even be a view restriction of some kind.

Talk to an attorney who is familiar with land use issues.

Failing all else, offer your neighbor the same amount the other guy is, but for an easement over his property. he gets to keep the property, you get to keep the view.

[Chet]

Otis, thats great advice.

[Jen]

In addition, are you familiar with accesskent.org for researching property info? There you can look up property descriptions and title deeds. It costs about $2 bucks to view and print out a deed from that site.

[Cardinal]

I am not sure I would entirely agree with the prior posts. Are any of the lots on your cul-de-sac large enough to be subdivided under the zoning in place now, or when you purchased your home? If not, you could make an argument that you bought with the reasonable expectation that land would not be further subdivided or the lot lines adjusted in such a way that your view of the lake would be changed. I think an attorney could advise you regarding this, and although you will incur costs, hiring one to argue your case in front of the plan commission would be advisable. The attorney is going to make a stronger case, and having an attorney will signal to the potential buyer, seller, plan commission, and city council that they have a potential fight on their hands. In that case, they may be more inclined to back off or deny the lot line adjustment.

[kalimotxo]

Originally posted by Cardinal

I am not sure I would entirely agree with the prior posts. Are any of the lots on your cul-de-sac large enough to be subdivided under the zoning in place now, or when you purchased your home? If not, you could make an argument that you bought with the reasonable expectation that land would not be further subdivided or the lot lines adjusted in such a way that your view of the lake would be changed. I think an attorney could advise you regarding this, and although you will incur costs, hiring one to argue your case in front of the plan commission would be advisable.

On what legal grounds could a lawyer possibly challenge the new construction? In all likelihood even if the subdivided parcels were not suitable for construction as single lots, OP should have been prepared for contingencies, e.g. someone purchasing two of the adjacent lots, merging them, and building on the new larger lot. Nothing in the post supports any expectation that the views would be maintained perpetually.

I think Otis had it spot on. Unless there is an existing issue with the ordinance or some easement in place, I don't see any legal recourse other than buying the property outright or buying a viewshed easement.

At any rate, if you seriously want to pursue this, it seems like it would be prudent to talk to an attorney with local experience in land use sooner rather than later.