Frequently Asked Questions What is the legal name of the property on Christmas Lake where deeded easement owners have direct access and recreational rights to both Christmas Lake and Lot 11? Lot 11 Radisson Inn Addition What is meant by deeded right? Both direct access and recreational rights are legally granted to specific properties of Lot 11 Radisson Inn Addition. And, the language from the court orders supporting deeded rights is documented therein and on the individual Certificates of Title. Originally, the deeded right language incorporated the term, ingress and egress to the bathing beach, allowing easement owners to use the entire portion of Lot 11. Effective with the favorable decisions by the courts, (District & Appellate), the easement owner s portion of Lot 11 was reduced from the entire lot to a specifically defined portion of Lot 11 (see court document 3042143, plat of Lot 11 which defines the easement) Reference, Hennepin County District Court File No. A-24774 and Minnesota Court of Appeals File No. C5-92-1201 Do easement owners own any of Lot 11? Easement owners are not Lot 11 property owners. Easement owners have rights and recreational usages on Christmas Lake, on the easement owner s dock and on Lot 11 property specific to easement owners. Who is the current owner of Lot 11 and when did they purchase Lot 11? Michael & Leslie Wille are the current owners of Lot 11 and they purchased this property in 1999 from Roy Ahern, Deephaven, MN, who was the property owner of record throughout all court proceedings. What property rights do easement owners possess? They have the deeded right to use the easement within the property lines of the easement, sometimes referred to as the hockey stick configuration. See schematic diagram of Lot 11, Registrar of Titles Document number 3042144, which defines the easement boundaries. In addition and as described in the court
documents, easement owners have, access to the beach area, for the use of the beach area, for construction, maintenance and use of the dock and general recreational purposes associated with the use of the beach, (over the entire shoreline) and dock for the benefit of all of the lots in Radisson Inn Addition. Who was the attorney who represented the easement owners in both the District and Appellate Court decisions? Minneapolis Attorney, Tom Owens 612.349.5280 In more recent years, who is the attorney that has represented easement owners in other property and recreational use disputes? Robert Alsop, (Bob), with Kennedy & Graven, Minneapolis, MN 612.337.9224 Do the owners of Lot 11 have any unique rights to control the easement owner s usage of Lot 11? No, with regard to the easement over Lot 11.Both the easement owners and the property owners are required to respect each other s rights. Who defined the current, fixed easement lines? Stated differently, who drew the official easement owner s access lines across Lot 11, across the entire lake frontage and back from the lake into Lot 11, approximately 40 feet from the high water line? This was defined by the Hennepin County District Court decision, reference Court File No. A-24774 Can an owner of Lot 11 Radisson Inn Addition Properties ever build a house on Lot 11? Any development on Lot 11 is subject to the constraints of the easement and applicable City of Shorewood Ordinances. As a result of the District and Appellate Court decisions, did the language of the easement owner s Certificate of Tile change? Yes. The original easement owner s titles used the terminology of, ingress and egress to the bathing beach, to partially define the deeded lake access of the easement owner s property. Today, the language on all the Lot 11 Easement Owner s Certificates of Tile includes significantly more extensive language as follows Subject to and together with an easement as defined in plat of survey filed in Torrens Case No. A-24774, a certified copy of which is filed as document No. 3042144, for access to the beach area, the use of the beach
area and for construction, maintenance and use of dock extending from the shoreline of Lot 11 into Christmas Lake and general recreational purposes associated with the use of the beach area and dock for the benefit of lands described in Order Document No. 3042143... What is the exact location of Shore Road, especially with regard to Lot 11? Shore Road is the street off Radisson Inn Road, which terminates in a double dead-end street, one passing along the northeastern shore of Christmas Lake and the other passing directly in front of 5560 Shore Road, (to some this appears to be the driveway for 5560, but actually it is Shore Road), and extending the same width, the full length of Lot 11, terminating at the adjoining property lines of 20575, 20555, and 20545, all located on Radisson Inn Road. (See attached City of Shorewood map of the neighborhood) Why isn t Shore Road, as defined in the above question, paved? Is this a City of Shorewood Road? Can we park on the paved and grass covered portion of the road? Yes this is a City of Shorewood road and perhaps the City of Shorewood has more complete answers to the paved question above. When the original owners of 5560 Shore Road built their home, Shore Road was only constructed, (asphalt road), to the eastern boundary of Lot 11, with the owner s stipulating that they would both garage their cars and park them on either side of their home and allow no parking on the city of Shorewood s, Shore Road. Esthetically, it appears the right thing was done. Future neighbors have chosen to live with and honor the esthetic decision of grass and not asphalt. Who are the property owners who have an easement over Lot 11? The initial ruling during the opening day of District Court was to vacate all easement rights of property owners not represented in the court proceeding. After this ruling the list of property owners with easement rights was reduced by over two thirds, leaving the remaining 14 unique properties. A complete listing of easement owner properties is published on our website and a complete listing of easement owners contact information is available for each easement owner. Note that the properties located at 20435 and 20575 Radisson Inn Road have both Lot 11 easement owner s access to Christmas Lake as well as their private property, direct access to Christmas Lake. Who are the current easement owners who were the owners of record in the District & Appellant Court decisions? Aubrecht, Cohen, Hastings, Krebs/Welner, Seifert, Watz/Hittler, Zulghadr
What is the significance of the barbeque-fire pit reference in both the District and Appellant Court decisions and, who has authority over the location and usage of barbeque-fire pits, specific to Lot 11? The presence of the BBQ fire pit was a factor for the District and Appellate Courts, cited in findings of fact and in the drawing of the easement boundaries. The BBQ fire pit, as it existed during the court proceedings, (the original BBQ fire pit from the early 1940 s), was included inside the easement extending from the lake and onto Lot 11 property. The City of Shorewood, in cooperation with the local fire department, has full authority over the location and usage of the BBQ fire pit. Who maintains Lot 11? For the last 20 years, the property owners of Lot 11 have been intermittently present only during the summer months; therefore, significant maintenance and upkeep is done by the easement owners, employing a shared responsibility with the property owner. A partial list of maintenance includes: the annual installation, maintenance and removal of the dock, dock repairs and upgrades, upgrade and maintenance of stairs from the easement property to lake, the installation and removal of both shared and owner specific watercraft, maintenance and repair of easement access (the ingress and egress paths), raking and leaf removal, lawn mowing, installation and removal of buoys, weeding of gardens, maintenance and management of naturally occurring invasive plant species, to include Milfoil and Buckthorn and general other situational trash cleanup. Have easement owners engaged in social activities on Lot 11? Yes. During the District and Appellant court proceedings in the early 1990 s, where Lot 11 usage of easement owners was officially challenged for the first time, it was demonstrated by both testimony and photographs that much community partying occurred among easement owners on Lot 11. Pictures and testimony dated from the 1940 s through the present day, confirmed and verified the ongoing, continuous usage of Lot 11 easement owners as well as identifying specific on-going structures, (dock to lake & BBQ fire pit), on the easement and in continuous use. Interestingly, at one time Lot 11 had a 10 person gazebo, (screened in, roofed house ), on the easement about 10 feet from the water. Have major improvements and changes ever been made to Lot 11? The beauty of Lot 11 is that it has essentially remained unchanged the full life of the easement. This easement, (as court research discovered), is the oldest easement in the State of Minnesota, which commenced in 1939. As this document is edited and updated, today, (2013), this easement has a 74 year history. The Lot 11 gazebo, originally located in the center of the lot approximately 10 feet from the shore, was heavily damaged in the 1965 tornado
and was removed and never replaced. The original BBQ fire pit, located directly behind the gazebo, was not damaged and was used and maintained regularly over the years. It was replaced in 2009 with a design and construction to capture the original, 1930 s BBQ fire pit. Do the easement owners have a formal association, dues and office holders, to help manage and govern the Lot 11 easement? No. Over the years, any issues and costs which have arisen for the benefit of the majority of easement owners, (generally all benefit), have found both shared leadership and a rallying, easement owner community, in response to the issue. Where revenue was need, all easement owners shared equally. Do Lot 11 Easement Owners have a community website? http://lot11.org What has been the history of the dock on Lot 11? During the District Court proceedings evidence was presented, including an early 1940 s aerial visual, of a dock on Lot 11. Furthermore, testimony and photographs document a continuous presence of a dock. Easement owners have continuously, throughout the years, maintained, repaired and replaced the dock as appropriate. Multiple docks are allowed under a separate license and conditional use permits, with authorization through the City of Shorewood and/or the DNR, Department of Natural Resources. For those times where 4 plus boats have been moored, short and long term on Lot 11 property, we have simply modified the dock design to accommodate their seasonal storage. What has been the history of boats and boat usage on Lot 11? Throughout the years there has been a history of continuous boat usage on Lot 11. The types and the number of boats have continuously changed, always in compliance with the City of Shorewood and the Department of Natural Resources, who share joint control. Currently R-1 regulations allow 4 boats, any combinations of motorized or not, to be moored to the dock, with a variable length of dock allowed to enable four boats to be moored. Canoes, rowboats, etc are classified by ordinance as recreational moveable equipment and as such are not limited by type and quantity and can be stored on Lot 11. What is the mission and vision of the Christmas Lake Home Owners Association? The Christmas Lake Home Owners Association is comprised of home owners and Lot 11 easement owners who use Christmas Lake and thereby contribute to the ecological integrity of this wonderful ecosystem. In 2005, all Lot 11 Easement
Owners were added to their roster and when the annual association dues pitch arrives, easement owners contribute an appropriate amount. With both Christmas Lake property owners and Lot 11 easement owners, financial participation is voluntary. The Christmas Lake Association Website is: www.christmaslake.org June 2013