A Utah property owner had a straightforward goal: build an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) on her property. She had the space, the financing, and a contractor ready to begin. What she did not have was a permit — and after eight months of navigating city offices, she was no closer to one.

The obstacle was an old easement recorded on the property. The easement crossed the exact area where the ADU needed to be placed, and the city's planning department would not approve the permit while the easement remained on record. The problem: no one at the city could tell her clearly who held the easement, whether it was still active, or what the process was to address it.

Different departments gave contradictory guidance. One told her the easement holder needed to sign a release. Another told her to go to court. A third said the easement had probably expired but couldn't confirm it. Eight months passed. Nothing moved.

She engaged Highland Surveying to do what should have been done at the outset: survey the property, identify the easement's legal status, and determine the correct path to resolution.

Highland began by researching the easement's complete history: the original grant document, the stated purpose of the easement, the identity of the easement holder, and the chain of ownership for both the dominant and servient estates. This research established who actually held the easement and under what authority it had been created.

In the field, Highland surveyed the full property boundary and conducted a thorough investigation of the easement corridor. They coordinated with utility locating services to confirm whether any utilities were physically present in the easement area — critical, because an easement created for utilities that are no longer present is subject to different legal treatment than one actively serving infrastructure.

The investigation confirmed the easement corridor was completely unoccupied. No utilities. No physical improvements. No evidence of use within the statutory period required for the easement to remain in force under Utah Code § 72-5-105.

Armed with the documentary record and the field evidence, Highland prepared a survey package and legal analysis identifying the easement's status, the statutory basis for vacation, and the correct procedural path: not a court action, but a city council vacation hearing — a process far faster, less expensive, and more predictable.