For use in the Denver Water Service Area |
The Board Of Water Commissioners
Denver Water
Engineering Standards
Chapter 4 – Easements And Licenses
4.01 General:
The following procedures have been developed to process easement and revocable licenses as quickly as possible through Denver Water. These procedures have been developed for the ease of administration and to provide Denver Water with accurate and uniform drawings, legal documents, and specifications. Requests that do not follow these procedures and required attachments will not be considered.
4.02 Granting An Easement To Denver Water:
When a developer or property owner is required to grant permanent easements to Denver Water for the installation of water mains, the following procedures shall be followed:
A. Procedure: The following items shall be submitted in one complete package to Denver Water's Water Sales Section with the initial submittal of water plans as described in Section 2.05.
Partial submittals or those not conforming to these requirements will be returned to the submitting party with a request to complete the submittal. The Plan Review process will not begin until all items have been received.
1. A letter requesting that Denver Water accept the easement indicating the full and legal name of the property owner granting the easement and the names and titles of the persons authorized to sign the easement agreement and those who will attest the authorized signer, if applicable.
2. An AutoCAD drawing file made in model space, NOT paper space using the layers, line types, colors, templates, and pen sizes as defined in Section 4.06.
Drawings that do not comply with Section 4.06 are not acceptable.
a. Size: Overall 8-1/2 x 11 inches as shown on Specimen B of Section 4.06.
b. Title Block: Dimensions and lettering as shown on Specimen B of Section 4.06. The initials of the person who prepared the drawing shall be entered in the area marked "DRN." All other fields will be completed by Denver Water.
c. Scale: The drawing shall be to an appropriate recognized civil engineering scale. The scale used shall be large enough so that all dimensions are clearly shown. Whenever possible, the entire easement should be on one sheet. Break lines, except in the land corner, ties, are not acceptable.
d. Tie: All parcels shall have a direct tie, or one with a maximum of two courses, to the nearest available recognized land corner (i.e., section corner, quarter section corner, range point). If the easement is located within a platted subdivision, a tie shall be made to a lot corner, tract corner, or subdivision corner of that subdivision.
Basis of bearings shall be established using NAD83 State Plane Coordinates, with the State Plane Coordinate information clearly identified on the AutoCAD drawing.
e. All distances shown on the drawing shall be to the nearest hundredth of a foot.
f. A description of the monuments set at the ends of the line, which is the basis of the bearing, shall be supplied in the drawing or the bearing basis note.
3. A Commitment for Title Insurance covering the water line easement indicating the "City and County of Denver, acting by and through its Denver Board of Water Commissioners" as the proposed insured shall be submitted. The following items shall be included:
a. Legible copies of all documents referred to in the B-2 (Exceptions) portion of the Commitment for Title Insurance. Documents must be submitted in the order identified on the title commitment. Documents shall be numbered to coincide with the number indicated on the title commitment.
b. A drawing or map depicting the water line easement and all of the exceptions that can be plotted. Exceptions on the drawing or map shall be numbered correlative to the number of the exception on the Commitment for Title Insurance.
c. Denver Water will determine the amount of title insurance to be acquired. All expenses incurred in obtaining title insurance shall be paid by the grantor of the easement.
d. A title insurance policy shall be submitted to Denver Water’s Property Management Section upon finalization of the easement document and the Commitment for Title Insurance review.
e. Title Commitments and policies are NOT REQUIRED for 10’ wide fire hydrant easements that stand alone as additions to existing waterline easements or a dedicated right-of-way. Ten foot wide fire hydrant easements being granted as a part of a proposed distribution line easement shall be included in the title commitment/policy for the overall easement.
4. A copy of an overall site plan, which accurately shows the relationship of the following:
a. The proposed water main, easement, and dedicated rights-of-way.
b. All existing and proposed utilities on the site.
c. Proposed structures, landscaping, and roadways on the site.
d. Cross-sections of private roadways which are coincidental with water line easements and cross sections of public rights-of-way within which a water main is to be installed.
e. The perimeter distances and bearings or angles of the site and its relationship to the tie corner of the easement.
5. A copy of a recorded or preliminary subdivision plat or development plan for the area or subdivision within which the water line easement is located, or any subdivision plat or a Planned Unit Development plan that directly relates to the easement(s) and depicts property boundaries.
B. Document Preparation: Denver Water will prepare the easement agreement on a standard Denver Water form and return the document to the grantor for signatures.
Denver Water will prepare all easement agreement documents for easements acquired on property within the City and County of Denver and in Total Service Contract Service Areas. A "Duplicate Document Preparation Fee" of $1,000.00 may be charged by Property Management for agreements requiring more than one preparation, or for title work that must be re-reviewed because of a conveyance of the property or if other significant modifications are required during preparation.
C. Construction: The construction of the water main shall not be authorized to commence until the easement is accepted by Denver Water, the easement agreement has been recorded, and the title insurance policy and any documentation incidental thereto has been received and reviewed.
4.03 Granting An Easement To A Distributor:
For developments located outside the City and County of Denver, but inside a Denver Water Distributor's Contract Service Area, a completed, recorded easement agreement on one of the four Denver Water approved, pre-printed distributor easement documents ("Non-Exclusive", "Exclusive" or "PUD/PBG", or, for those Distributors meeting the qualifications set by Denver Water, the "Distributor" Non-Exclusive Performance Easement") shall be submitted to Denver Water prior to the approval of the water plans.
Criteria for drawings and legal descriptions attached to the easement agreements are established by the individual distributor.
All other criteria for easements (widths, easement types and private roadway templates) are as indicated in these Engineering Standards.
4.04 Obtaining A License To Use Or Cross Denver Water Property:
When requesting permission to use or cross Denver Water property, an Applicant shall request a revocable license for routine right angle utility crossings of strip properties and easements, or for temporary uses. The following procedures shall be followed:
A. Procedure: A letter requesting Denver Water’s permission to use or cross its property shall be submitted to Denver Water's Property Management Section. The letter of request shall contain the exact name of the company, corporation, partnership, etc., that will own, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities, the names and titles of the persons authorized to sign the agreement, and include the following enclosures:
1. An AutoCAD drawing file made in model space, NOT paper space, using the layers, line types, colors, templates, and pen sizes as defined in Section 4.06.
Drawings that do not comply with Section 4.06 are not acceptable:
a. Size: Overall 8-1/2 x 11 inches as shown on Specimen B of Section 4.06.
b. Title Block: Dimensions and lettering shown on Specimen B of Section 4.06. The initials of the person who prepared the drawing shall be entered in the area marked "DRN." All other fields will be completed by Denver Water.
c. Scale: The drawings shall be to an appropriate recognized engineering scale. The scale used must be large enough so that all dimensions are clearly shown. Whenever possible, the entire crossing should be on one drawing. Break lines, except in the land corner ties are not acceptable.
d. Tie: All crossings shall have a direct tie, or one with a maximum of two courses, to the nearest available recognized land corner (i.e., section corner, quarter section corner, range point, Denver Water monument, or the nearest available intersection of two dedicated public road right-of-way lines).
Basis of bearings shall be established using NAD83 State Plane Coordinates, with the State Plane Coordinate information clearly identified on the AutoCAD drawing.
e. All distances shown on the drawing shall be to the nearest hundredth of a foot.
f. All drawings shall have a typical profile of the crossing as shown on the specimens.
2. A check payable to Denver Water for the applicable fee shall accompany the letter of request. If the request for the License Agreement, after Denver Water’s review, is denied, one-half of the applicable, then-current licensing fee will be returned. The remaining half will be retained to cover associated review and administrative costs.
3. Requests should include prints of the plans of the overall job in the area of the crossing, when available, and prints of new or proposed subdivisions whenever this information would clarify or identify the location of the request.
B. Fees:
1. License Agreements for routine right angle utility crossing of Denver Water strip properties are issued for a one-time license processing fee. This license processing fee is established by Denver Water's Property Management Section. The fee for the use of Denver Water property, other than for a routine right angle utility crossing, will be determined by Denver Water using accepted real estate appraisal practices.
2. Upon request, the required drawing will be prepared by Denver Water, provided all necessary information is included with the request. Substantial delay in issuance of authorization may be experienced if Denver Water prepares the drawings. Planning on the part of the requestor should include these potential delays.
The fee for Denver Water’s preparation of the drawing is established by Denver Water's Property Management Section in addition to the then-current processing fee.
3. A deposit shall be collected from Licensee prior to the issuance of any License Agreement on the Board's High Line Canal property. The deposit shall be refunded only upon complete restoration of the Board’s property to the Board's satisfaction following construction.
C. Document Preparation: Denver Water will prepare the License Agreement on a standard Denver Water License Agreement form and return the document to the Licensee for signatures. A copy of the completed Licensed Agreement shall be kept at the job site at all times.
4.05 Acquiring An Easement From Denver Water:
When a utility company, municipality or other entity desires to obtain the permanent right to use or cross Denver Water property, the following procedures shall be followed.
A. Procedure: A letter requesting that Denver Water grant an easement shall be submitted to Denver Water's Property Management Section. The letter shall contain the name of the entity to whom the easement will be granted and include the following enclosures:
1. An AutoCAD drawing file made in model space, not paper space using the layers, line types, colors, templates, and pen sizes as defined in Section 4.06.
Note: Drawings that do not comply with Section 4.06 are not acceptable.
a. Size: Overall 8-1/2 x 11 inches, as shown on Specimen B of Section 4.06. inch
b. Title Block: Dimensions and lettering as shown Specimen B of Section 4.06. The initials of the person who prepared the drawing shall be entered in the area marked "DRN." All other fields will be completed by Denver Water.
c. Scale: The drawing shall be to an appropriate recognized engineering scale. The scale used must be large enough so that all dimensions are clearly shown. Whenever possible, the entire easement should be on one sheet. Break lines, except in the land corner ties, are not acceptable.
d. Tie: All parcels shall have a direct tie, or one with a maximum of two courses, to the nearest available recognized land corner (i.e., section corner, quarter section corner, range point). If the easement is located within a plotted subdivision, a tie shall be made to a lot corner, tract corner, or subdivision corner of that subdivision.
Basis of bearings shall be established using NAD83 State Plane Coordinates, with the State Plane Coordinate information clearly identified on the AutoCAD drawing.
e. All distances shown on the drawing shall be to the nearest hundredth of a foot.
f. A description of the monuments set at the ends of the line, which is the basis of the bearing, shall be supplied in the drawing or the bearing note.
2. Two copies of the overall construction plans, which accurately show the following:
a. Any existing roadway and/or bridge.
b. The proposed facilities (i.e., roadway and/or bridge or utility).
c. The proposed construction area.
d. Any proposed temporary easement area.
e. Existing and proposed fencing.
f. All Denver Water facilities in the area.
B. Valuation: A Denver Water staff appraiser will appraise the requested easement. The minimum cost for the granting of a permanent easement is established by Denver Water's Property Management Section.
C. Fees: A deposit shall be collected from Grantee prior to the conveyance of any Easement Agreement on the Board’s High Line Canal property. The deposit shall be refunded only upon complete restoration of the Board’s property to the Board’s satisfaction following construction.
D. Document Preparation: Denver Water will prepare the necessary documents and forward them to the grantee for signature.
E. Construction: No construction will be authorized to commence until a final easement is granted.
4.06 Specimen Sheets Illustrating Procedures:
| CAD | ||||
| General Instructions | 4-06 | 4-06 | ||
| A. | DW Standards | 4-06A | 4-06A | |
| B. | Border/Title Block | 4-06B | 4-06B | |
| C. | Perimeter Description | 4-06C | 4-06C | |
| D. | Crossing Overhead | 4-06D | 4-06D | |
| E. | Underground Ditch Crossing | 4-06E | 4-06E | |
| F. | Centerline Description | 4-06F | 4-06F | |
| G. | Simplified Area | 4-06G | 4-06G | |
| H. | Fire Hydrant Easement | 4-06H | 4-06H | |
Engineering Standards - Chapter 4:
Revised 07-04, Previous Revision 05-02
End