## Facts

- Brad and Kristi Christensen and Dennis and Linda Fairchild owned adjacent properties in Pocatello, Idaho affected by a proposed extension of the Portneuf Greenway (a public biking and walking path).
- Harper Road was platted and dedicated as a public city road in 1946 but was never opened or used as a road; it crossed the Christensen property and terminated at the west boundary of the Fairchild parcel.
- The west 30 feet of the Fairchild property was burdened by a “roadway and utility” easement.
- The easement was created in 1974 as an appurtenant easement to provide access from Cree Avenue to a separate parcel to the north known as the “Sewer Lagoon” property (the dominant estate).
- Later in 1974, the City acquired the Sewer Lagoon parcel and had not used the easement for many years.
- The City planned to route the Greenway along Harper Road and through the “roadway and utility” easement to connect with the broader Greenway system.
- The landowners sued to enjoin the City from using Harper Road and the easement for Greenway purposes; the City counterclaimed for authority to proceed.
- The district court ruled for the City (in part on summary judgment and in part after a bench trial), and the landowners appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether using a platted, dedicated public road right-of-way for a public pedestrian and bicycle Greenway falls within the scope of the road dedication.
2. Whether an appurtenant “roadway and utility” easement may be used to carry public Greenway traffic as part of a trail system serving purposes beyond access to the dominant estate.

## Decision

- The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part.
- The court held the City could use Harper Road for the Greenway because a public street right-of-way may be used for public travel, including pedestrian and bicycle travel.
- The court held the City could not use the “roadway and utility” easement for Greenway traffic because that use would extend the easement beyond serving the dominant estate and would overburden the servient estate.
- The case was disposed of by permitting the Greenway on Harper Road while prohibiting Greenway use of the private easement.

## Legal Principles

- A public street dedication permits uses consistent with public travel and may include pedestrian and bicycle corridors, even if the platted street has not been opened.
- An appurtenant easement is limited to serving the identified dominant estate and generally may not be used to benefit other property or a broader public use.
- Using an appurtenant easement as a conduit for through-traffic in a public trail system can constitute an impermissible enlargement of the easement and an overburdening of the servient estate.

## Conclusion

The court treated a bike-and-walk Greenway as a permissible public travel use of a dedicated street right-of-way, but it rejected the City’s attempt to convert an appurtenant access easement into a segment of a public trail network serving interests beyond the dominant parcel.


Christensen v. City of Pocatello, 124 P.3d 1008 (Idaho 2005)