Property owner objects to easement condition; planning board pauses decision

The Lebanon Planning Board on Sept. 14 heard hours of testimony from the owner and the applicant’s surveyor over a condition of approval for a previously authorized minor subdivision at 53 Poverty Lane.

Staff described a staff‑recommended condition that would require the creation and recording of an easement for a water main that crosses the property; the condition, staff said, had been included because the applicant’s representative requested the easement while preparing the original submission. The applicant’s land surveyor, Donald Johnston, said his review found no recorded easement and described what he characterized as an implied or prescriptive right to maintain a long‑standing water main.

Property owner Doug Ollman told the board he was “not willing to allow the city to blackmail us, which is basically what they’re doing, by making it a condition of subdivision and take a piece of our property.” He said the easement was never recorded and that any future easement should be negotiated. Staff countered that the condition originated in the applicant’s submission and that staff had no objection to removing the condition if the board prefers to decouple easement negotiations from subdivision approval.

Board members voiced concern about precedent and the legal defensibility of imposing an easement as a condition. One board member urged the city attorney to review whether the subdivision regulations provide authority to impose the condition. After discussion, the board voted to continue the hearing and asked staff to obtain a legal opinion and to work with the applicant and owner on a negotiated easement or other solution; the applicant agreed to the continuance.

The continuation gives the parties time to clarify whether the city already has prescriptive rights, whether a formal easement is needed to protect municipal access, and whether any compensation or specific easement language is appropriate. The board scheduled the application to return at a future meeting after staff and legal review.