The terrace and sidewalk is part of the right-of-way. The property owner never owned it, but is legally responsible for maintaining it.

The city has maps (and is willing to print out your property) showing where the pins are locating the corner of your property. They're there you just might have to do a little searching, and digging. In the case that they aren't there anymore, doing a little math and finding your neighbor's (or further) pins you can find where your pin should be.

One property I owned in town had iron stakes on all 4 corners per the survey.

No only that, but the "17 foot from curb" or "1 foot behind sidewalk" is a very generalized statement, as sidewalk builders don't necessarily know where the property line is, especially along a curved road. Bottom line is, you have rights to what your deed states, not to a fence, near a sidewalk, so many feet from the curb, near a power pole, to uncle johns porch, etc...

Actually, you just own the "Rights" to the land, not the land itself. If you want to know where your rights extend to, you need a survey. The City will have no idea.

Greg, you play the unassuming role like a fiddle.

What the hell do we actually own? To the 17 foot mark; to the sidewalk; or, to the curb? Or, as my dad used to joke about out on the farm in Lima Township, "We pay taxes to the middle of the [insert expletive here] road; but, try to plant corn there and see what happens to you."

And, yes, I understand the good County did plow the snoww off that road we paied taxes under; so, please give my dad a break. It was just a bit of farmer sarcasm.

Apparently every tax jurisdiction is different. And I understand fair blog commenters and Greg, that a governmental agency can do just about anything they want via the declaration, "easement."

I have a call into the City of Janesville to get a definitive answer on just where our line of ownership and tax responsibly begins and ends.

I wait for a call-back with baited breath.

Oh, by the by; if anyone thinks they really own their land, see what happens when a governmental agency approves a big-box store, airport, or highway in your neighborhood. We can chat over your tears at the gin-mill of your choice.

Bob Keith – foolishly loving this subject for some sick reason

That is exactly why the city does not own that property.
You own it and it is dedicated to the city in the deed.

Well, since the city actually owns the 17' of property, the city can pay for the sidewalks instead of the homeowner. Sounds like logical reasoning to me.

I have always been told that the city owned it. As much as it pains me to be reponsible for their property, I take better care then what they do. It kills me that they mow the terrace area down Beloit Ave heading towards the 11 bypass and dont pull the weeds that are growing on the top and bottom area of the curb. Really??? Would you handle your own property like that? Irritates the crap out of me.

Of course I have a deed.
Actually, I have two deeds.
How many do you have?
I pay over ten thousand dollars in property taxes every year.
How much do you pay?

Greg,
If you want some really heated discussion, ask who really owns the land along the rock river. or just about any body of water.

Also, President Obama is planning to give the terraces to illegal immigrants.

Take a close look at your deed.
There is a good chance that it is a fake
and that you actually own land in Kenya.

None of that matters in the Mole-Sadler Division. There they have diplomatic immunity as the area serves as the communication base for the Ninth Legion of the Gazodare Galaxy (Fourth Cluster from Herpasondon).

Actually,
China owns them
and they are going to use them to impose
Sharia Law and Communism
after they confiscate our guns
and nationalize
the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

The city owning it has nothing to do with them being ordered to prune for traffic safety, it can be anywhere and owned by anyone, if it a safety issue you can be ordered to correct it. Safety first.

Your insurance agent is wrong.
All you really own by the deed
is the land that your structure is on.
That is all that is described in the document.

Presny is a joke, anyone that would let Riverside get in such bad shape should be fired, thank goodness for friends of the park, city employees could not eVen paint a couple of benches.

Gazette quote 7/21 :"In the 1970s, Janesville had a forestry department with specialized equipment. The department was dissolved after the city finished dealing with Dutch elm disease. City ordinances were revised to make abutting homeowners responsible for the care and removal of trees on terraces, Presny said."

janesvillean - I don't think we actually own any of the land because we don't have allodial title to it. That's why the government can declare eminent domain, and also impose property taxes. When I bought my present house my insurance agent told me all I own is the structure, and the landscaping above the ground.

I've pointed this out several times. The sidewalks are not "on" the owner's property; they are on the right-of-way. The property owners without sidewalks have come to believe that they own everything out to the curb line, but it was never so.

Don't forget the easement behind the house, too.

So my WHOLE front yard belongs to the city?
DO you mean if sidewalk then 1' beyond and if no sidewalk 17 ft from curb?

The landowner dedicates that part of the lot to public use.
This gives the city all authority over use, but leaves the responsibility of maintenance to the landowner.
And, no, you cannot rescind said dedication.