§ 3.10 - Rights Acquired by the Public

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§3.10 RIGHTS ACQUIRED BY THE PUBLIC

Upon dedication, a public easement permits not only a right of passage, but also all implied rights and privileges necessary to use the easement. Finch v. Matthews, 74 Wn.2d 161, 167-68, 443 P.2d 833 (1968); Hagen v. City of Seattle, 54 Wn.2d 218, 221, 339 P.2d 79 (1959) (right to make an original grade is implied in the dedication of a street).

(1) Permissible uses

Absent specific conditional language in the dedication, the property dedicated may be used for any purpose not inconsistent with the use for which the property was dedicated. See Hanson Inv. Co., 34 Wn.2d 112. For example, land dedicated as a street is deemed to be held in trust for the public and for the benefit of public travel. Public improvements that do not interfere with public ingress and egress rights are permissible. Albee v. Town of Yarrow Point, 74 Wn.2d 453, 457, 458-59, 445 P.2d 340 (1968) (concluding that construction of a bench on property dedicated for a public street was permissible because it could be used by pedestrians); City of Seattle v. P.B. Inv. Co., 11 Wn. App. 653, 658, 524 P.2d 419 (1974) (water mains, gas pipes, telephone and telegraph lines). Public authorities may change the intensity of the use over time. Albee, 74 Wn.2d at 458-59 (adapting a right-of-way to accommodate vehicle use deemed permissible even though it had only been used exclusively by pedestrians); Ferry v. City of Seattle, 116 Wash. 648, 203 P. 40 (1922), rev'g 200 P. 336 (1921) (concluding the city could change the use of property dedicated to the city because the dedication did not contain any restrictions on its use).

Although public authorities have discretion to change the use of property over time, they may not have the authority to change the restrictions on use after acceptance, even by a document from the original grantors or their successors amending the restrictions at a later date, if the amendment effectively would violate the terms of the original dedication. See Friends of N. Spokane Cnty. Parks v. Spokane Cnty., 184 Wn. App. 105, 336 P.3d 632 (2014) (reversing the trial court decision as to standing of the taxpayers and remanding the case for further review on the merits).

(2) Power to convey

One key difference between an easement and a dedication to the public is that the public has the right to convey interests in the dedicated property, and the interests so conveyed will survive a vacation of the property. Specifically, cities...