HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Memo dated January 21, 2011 from City Attorney Memo
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TO: Diane Voss, City Clerk
FROM: Doug Marek, City Attorney
DATE: January 21, 2011
SUBJECT: Error in Recorded Electric Easement Document-- Instrument#2011-00000088
You brought to my attention the error in the electric easement document,referenced above, that was
returned to you after recording by County Recorder Sue Vande Kamp. The question is whether the error
requires correction. The answer is no;the error is benign and will not affect the validity of the recorded
easement or the rights of the City to the easement area.
The easement description in the recorded document prepared by Ben Clark and executed by the property
owner lists the subject property as"Lots 9 and 10 except the East 6 feet of Lot 10 in Vivian G. Coy's
Subdivision, Ames, Iowa, locally known as 3524 Coy St. Ames, Iowa." The easement area is described
as"the Western 10 Feet of Lot 9."
The easement plat attached to the recorded document illustrates the location of easement area on the
subject property. While the legal description of both the subject property and the easement area match
the easement document, the"locally known"address is listed on the plat as 3426 Coy Street.
The property record cards of the Ames City Assessor verify that the legal descriptions on both the
easement document and the attached plat are accurate. The"locally known"address of 3426 Coy listed
on the plat map is correct,but the address on the easement document is incorrect.
This discrepancy is of no consequence, and no correction is necessary. The County Recorder and
County Auditor, as well as the abstractors who regularly review their records,rely upon the legal
descriptions and not upon the"locally known as"street addresses.
I will ask Ben Clark in the future to submit easement documents to the Legal Department for review
prior to having them executed by the owners. While it won't guarantee that documents will be error
free,it will provide one more level of review before the documents are sent to the county for recording.
Cc: Ben Clark, Electric Services