Honest officer i didn't dig in his yard!

mg: Got to talk to a police officer in town today. Seems that a gentleman did not like me digging in the sidewalk strip at the side of his house. So he called the cops and said i was digging in his yard! I explained to the officer that i was only digging in the curb strip which is city property (right?). And he said that i could hunt the strip all i wanted but No digging. Well, i was told i could take anything on the surface. I have a $50.00 detector that could do that! Of course there doesn't seem to be very many old silver coins on the surface these days. rofl

Anyhow, here's a picture of the stuff i found before i was a criminal.....

Another star badge a piece of copper pipe and an 18kt HGEP ring (boo hoo) also $3.73 in clad.

For what it's worth, it isn't universally true that the city owns the area between the sidewalk and the street. For instance, there are some subdivisions around here where that isn't true. In my subdivision there are no sidewalks but the Homeowner's Association is considering putting them in... and if that happens, the expense of the sidewalk will come from the Homeowner's Association (ie, the residents) and the property between it and the street would be ours. Personally I would be plenty unhappy if someone just assumed that it belonged to the city and started detecting there.

Even in cases where it is verified that the city owns the property, the homeowner usually is responsible for maintaining the grass so I would consider it appropriate to ask permission and I would not dig unless I had permission. That is just my two cents. I'm sure others feel differently.

in my town the curb strip is taking care of by the home owner and you need permission from him or you don't hunt it.even thoe it is city property.

Here is my opinion. I hunt thses strips also. If it is a strip that sets in front of a vacant lot I generally will hunt it untill I am told not to. Which has never happened. If it is in front of a house. GET PERMISSION. It may belong to the city. But..... if old grandpa joe has been cutting the grass on it and planting trees and plants on it for the last 25 years. You can bet your going to have a battle on your hands. Even if it belongs to the city, grandpa joe don't want you there, he is going to call the police everytime you show up. The police have to respond. Sooner or later they are going to get tired of you and have a come to Jesus meeting. Belive me looking at it from the police side, its a lot easier to get permission. Just use common sense. IMHO
By the way! Great finds!

I will hunt curb strips in front of vacant lots, parks, some industrial business areas, but would not do so in front of a house without permission. If a homeowner maintains it then it really does not matter who technically owns it in my opinion. Just asking for a confrontation and some ill will towards the hobby.

here in illinois the law is it is the homeowners property but the city has access to it for utiletis and such dennis

Looks like the consensus is get the Homeowners permission. Just by asking you never know they might say that you can do the whole yard.

Personally I know that most strips are public property but I feel the land owner has a say in what happens on the strips. I would never hunt one without asking the home owner. It makes for a bad impression of our hobby.

Please do not confuse ownership with easement rights. More often then not the city has easement rights to the sidewalk strip, but the land actually belongs to the adjacent landowner. As Angie stated this will vary from city to city. Hunting a sidewalk strip without making sure it is in fact City property is not advised. Even then, it is still a good idea to talk with the close by land owners. Not only will it ensure a good hunt experience, but you might secure permission to hunt the yard of the owner as well! I have had this happen many times.
I have successfully hunted sidewalk strips in the northern Colorado area for years without altercation. This is largely due to talking with landowners before I hunt the area, and securing an online easement/city property map of the towns I do this in. I have written an in depth article on hunting parkway strips which you can find here...

It is 4 pages long. You can navigate pages by clicking the links at the bottom of each page.

http://www.americandetectorist.com/parkway_01.shtml

These are very productive areas to hunt.You will do well, and bring home some nice finds. Make sure, as always, to shine a good light on the metal detecting community as you go about your treasure hunting!

Jack

Welcome in Ukraine for super hunt :beerbuddy:
No have call police :clapping:
Only you and meny land for hunt (and rare coins )
Fredoooom !!!!!!!!!!! eace:

Great write up cybersage. There's a park that use to be a school when I was a child and last time I was there I saw someone else hunting on the other side of the field but I never once that about the parkway till now. I do have one question for you when people give permission or watch you hunt do they ever ask or expect you to give them your finds it seems like everyone I know thinks silver coins are worth $100's of dollars. Does this ever pose a problem for you I don't mind giving up the occasional dime but what do you do if there standing over you when you pull a 14k ring out of the ground ??