Owning property comes with its own set of challenges, especially when the property includes something the public has come to rely on.

So, what do you do when a public park sits on your land, and you’re stuck with the responsibility – and liability – that comes with it? Do you continue maintaining the land for the good of the children, or do you reclaim the space?

In the following story, a new landowner faces this exact dilemma. Here are the details.

WIBTA for demolishing a public park?

I bought some land, including a house on a corner lot across from a school.

There’s a “public” park on the property, which I also inherited.

As far as I’m aware, this park has been open to the public for a couple of decades.

I’m not super familiar with it as I’m relatively new to this town.

It’s one of three parks, and obviously, it’s heavily used due to the closeness of an elementary school.

My lawyer says it’s an “easement,” meaning the public is free to use it out of habit/tradition, yet it remains my responsibility.

I guess the prior owner maintained it with some help from the town through the mayor’s office and volunteers.

The prior owner was a developer/philanthropist who did a lot of the small town.

Here’s why he doesn’t like the idea of keeping the park.

I don’t like this because it opens me up to liability.

I’ve asked the mayor’s office if they’d like to hire surveyors to redraw property lines and consider it public property rather than my property for free, no less, and they’ve refused.

They don’t want the liability or the cost of hiring workers and lawyers to make it happen.

Putting up signage or fences haven’t really worked, so I want to uproot it all and just make it lawn.

Before this, when I had signage up, some of the parents of students at the school started a petition to “save their park,” not knowing it’s privately owned and not part of the town’s public spaces.

Trying to reason with some of them fell on deaf ears.

WIBTA?

Eek. Both sides make valid points. On one hand, the children need parks, but on the other, no one wants to take on extra liability.

Let’s see what folks over at Reddit had to say about this.

This is a great idea and may just work!

Harsh judgment, but very true!

Hilarious! This person compares them to a Hallmark villain.

Indeed, the park did not appear overnight.

There has to be another way.

It’s understandable not to want the liability, but taking a park away from children is just mean.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.