Property lines in Fairfax County
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Anonymous
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walking the dog this morning in a neighborhood with sidewalks on only one side of the street. crossed over to avoid another pup, had to walk across the lawn by the road (where there is no sidewalk).
guy comes out to asked us not to walk on his lawn. in Fairfax county, isn't the strip of land next to the road considered a public median? Tried googling but couldn't find the answer (or didn't use correct key words?). when we put up our fence, we couldn't fence right up to the road. doesn't every yard has a public easement by the road? |
Anonymous
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I don't know, but see no reason why that should be the case. There's a sidewalk, you just didn't want to use it. Walking on someone's property just because it fronts a road wouldn't seem to be appropriate. The County has no easement, neither do you, and it's not public land. In practical terms it's doubtful the homeowner has any real recourse against you, but I suspect you were in fact trespassing.
The County does require sidewalks in subdivisions, but not necessarily on both sides of a street, depending on lot sizes. The sidewalk has to be within the dedicated right of way of the street. https://online.encodeplus.com/regs/fairfaxcounty-va-pfm/doc-viewer.aspx?secid=423#secid-423 |
Anonymous
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My understanding is that the county owns the first 10 feet.
Our section of the neighborhood has no sidewalks. Heard several reasons why we don’t, but bottom line is money. It would cost too much and would take much fighting with county to enforce it. Either way, that guy is annoying. People and dogs are constantly walking in the lower part of our yards to avoid cars and other dogs. |
Anonymous
| VDOT easement almost everywhere - not that guy’s property |
Anonymous
not true. look it up the address in the assesment database. Our property does right up to the vdot road edge....there is no buffer. neighbor has a 15' bufer. go figure. |
Anonymous
| Even so, I walk next to the curb facing traffic. If that's not possible because of dog issues, just cross and stand a moment. It's like dogs pooping on the right of way. It's stil gross. |
Anonymous
| Look up address in county records. It will show plat. |
Anonymous
| Is VA stand your ground state like FL ? |
Anonymous
Just because your property goes to the road doesn’t make my statement false. |
Anonymous
Nope. You don’t want to shoot someone on your property even if they’re about to kill you and/or your family. You have to prove beyond a doubt you couldn’t escape the situation. |
Anonymous
| It this bothers someone enough so that they leave their house to come out and confront you, why in the world would you want to walk on the grass at that part of the road? |
Anonymous
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Just stay off of people's lawns and out of their yards unless you absolutely have to.
Your an azz otherwise. |
Anonymous
That buffer isn't for your dog and you. |
Anonymous
This is the pragmatic, if somewhat crudely expressed, answer. Don't trespass; don't assume you're welcome, and don't assume you have "rights" over land you don't own personally. |
Anonymous
The homeowner is assuming rights over land he doesn’t own by telling her not to walk on it. |