A public easement is a special type of property ownership. When an easement exists on a piece of land, the owner of that land must permit others to use the easement for the stated purpose. If the easement is a public easement, the person who owns the land has to allow members of the public to access a defined area of his land for the reasons stated in the easement.
There are numerous forms of land ownership within the United States and within most other common law states. Most people who own land have a fee simple absolute. This is the simplest and most complete type of property ownership. A person with a fee simple absolute on a piece of land can do anything he wants with it, as long as he doesn't violate other laws.
An easement, on the other hand, is a much more limited type of property ownership. An easement is a non-possessory interest, which means that if a person is granted an easement, he does not own the land and cannot use it at will. When the easement is granted, it will stipulate a specific purpose that the portion of land can be used for.
For example, assume that Mr. Smith owns a piece of property. That piece of property lies between a neighborhood of individuals and the public sewer lines. The local government may wish to run sewer lines through Mr. Smith's property.
In that scenario, the local government could request a public easement to run the sewer lines. If Mr. Smith gave his permission, then the state could draw up an easement contract or land deed stipulating that the public has the right to run the sewer lines through that land. The easement would be limited though, by the stated purpose. This means the state could run sewer lines on Mr. Smith's land because of the public easement, but it could not also run power lines on the same plot of land because power lines were not stated as a right granted by the easement.
Once a public easement is granted, it becomes a part of the land on which it is based. If, for example, Mr. Smith wanted to sell his land, he can no longer sell a complete 100 percent ownership interest in it. He will sell the land with the public easement attached. Often, individuals, including the government, who want an easement on someone else's property will pay for the easement, although sometimes owners will grant an easement for free.