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Easements for a Water Meter and Wrought Iron Fence

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  • 04-12-2012, 03:22 PM
    jrobbles
    Easements for a Water Meter and Wrought Iron Fence
    My question involves an easement in the state of: Texas (Houston, but outside the city limits)

    Hi all,

    I did a quick search on here but didn't find an answer to my particular situation. so, i'm hoping to get some comments to help me know possible legal outcomes of my situation.

    ok, so here's the "issue":

    i had a wrought iron fence installed around my property, within my property line, for security reasons. The fence was installed about 7-8 years ago and i keep the gate locked with a pad lock.

    There is an in-ground water meter right next to the fence, but i've never been contacted from the water utility district regarding any accessibility issues. Since the meter is right up against the fence they can easily reach their hand through the fence (see pic below), but granted they can't stick their heads through the fence to read the meter. i'm guessing they used a mirror or who knows, but i've never received a complaint in all the 7-8 years that the fence has been there.

    about a month ago i noticed an employee from the water district company taking pictures of my wrought iron fence, and today another guy came and took measurements of the location of the meter. i was outside and they didn't say anything. they just did what they did and left. I called the water company and asked them what those guys were doing, and the lady responded saying that the directors of the company told them to measure if the meter was within the easement.
    so i asked the lady, if it is within the easement what are they going to do or what needs to be done on my part? and she said she doesn't know, that they are just taking measurements and pics of everyone in the neighborhood that has a fence or something blocking the water meter.

    so, my question is...what, legally, can they do about my fence? can they legally tear it down?

    other facts about where i live that may help: i live outside the city limits, and there is no home owners association for my neighborhood, and there are no deed restrictions. i also told them that i leave the gate unlocked on the days that they come to read the meter, but i dont know if maybe they think since the gate is closed that it's locked? regardless i'm just worried that they'll come tearing down my fence or something and i'll have no say in the matter.

    i drew up a quick site plan of my property showing the location of the wrought iron fence to the meter. i'm a visual learner so maybe these will help to illustrate what i stated above...if not maybe my drawing skills can serve as some entertainment, lol. anyway, here are the pics:

    overall site plan showing wrought iron fence/water meter
    http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...y/IMG_2605.jpg

    and this is an up close:
    http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...y/IMG_2610.jpg

    and this is how close the meter is to the wrought iron fence. someone can easily reach through:
    http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...y/IMG_2609.jpg

    any comments suggestions are greatly appreciated. thanks :)
  • 04-13-2012, 03:49 PM
    jrobbles
    Re: Easements: Water Meter and Wrought Iron Fence (Pics Included)
    anybody have any insight????
  • 04-13-2012, 03:59 PM
    LandSurveyor
    Re: Easements: Water Meter and Wrought Iron Fence (Pics Included)
    Have you investigated the existence of an easement and it's location?
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