Muskego panel declines to guarantee access to home's garage

The Muskego Parks and Recreation Board on Monday turned down a resident's request for a 10-foot easement that would allow him to keep using a strip of parkland to gain access to his garage.

James Mortle is worried that at some point, the city might not allow him to use the strip of land - a remnant of what was once Park Drive, the stub of a street that goes down to Little Muskego Lake - and he would then have no legal way of making use of his existing garage.

The unusual driveway arrangement existed when he bought his home more than a dozen years ago.

While the park board wasn't interested in granting an easement because it would tie the city's hands, it was open to an agreement that could be renewed annually. But Mortle said that would put him in a worse position than he is right now with the prescriptive easement.

His attorney and the city attorney will sort out whether the prescriptive easement exists or if he needs any additional protection to maintain his garage access. If so, they will likely draft an agreement that would come back to the city.