Easements

An easement is a document that gives an individual other than the owner right or access to a property.  It gives a person the right to use another person’s land for a specifically stated purpose.  An easement can involve a general or specific portion of the property.  Creating an easement or sub-dividing land involving fence lines, shared roads, lakeshore, and boundaries can solve disputes and improve relations between neighbors.

Easement Terminology

Easement: An easement is an interest in the land of another, which gives the holder a right to use the land in a specified manner, or to restrict the owner's use and enjoyment of the land. An easement is not an "estate" in land.

Affirmative Easement: Easement which gives the holder the right to use another's land (e.g., allowing access to or across the property, trail, road, flowage easements); may be limited in scope.

Negative Easement: Easement which gives the holder, or designated third party beneficiaries, the right to require the owner of land to refrain from exercising specific ownership rights (e.g., "no build" easements, most conservation easements, not building a structure more than one story high, not blocking a view, easements of light and air)

Appurtenant Easement: Easement which "runs with the land," typically benefiting adjacent land (e.g., a right to maintain a driveway across a neighbor's land).  These generally automatically transfer when the estate is transferred.

Easement in Gross: Easement which benefits a specific person or entity but doesn't run with land.  This type of easement can be for person use, like an easement to use a boat ramp, or a commercial use. 
Burdened Parcel (Servient Estate): Land burdened by the easement

Benefited Parcel (Dominant Estate): Land benefited by an appurtenant easement

Easement Area: Portion of the burdened parcel that is subject to the easement rights; may be all or part of the burdened parcel; may be subject to diminution for "specific location" if originally a blanket easement.

Conservation Easements: A voluntary transfer of specified land use and development rights to a qualifying organization for conservation purposes. Often, more in the nature of a restriction or equitable servitude than an easement.

Minnesota has adopted the Uniform Conservation Easement Act, Minn. Stat. Ch. 84C (effective 1985).  The term "conservation easement" has a specific meaning under Chapter 84C of Minnesota statutes: "A nonpossessory interest of a holder in real property imposing limitations or affirmative obligations the purposes of which include retaining or protecting natural, scenic, or open-space values of real property, assuring its availability for agricultural, forest, recreation, or open-space use, protecting natural resources, maintaining or enhancing air or water quality, or preserving the historical, architectural, archaeological, or cultural aspects of real property.