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Show Ten O'Clock Whistle By David Flelsher OVERLAPPING... I was talking with this guy the other night, and he said that part of his house actually lies in the street. I was taken back, and asked him to repeat what he'd said. "Part of my house lies in the street," he said again. "How could your house possibly lie in the street?" I asked. "You want to come see it?" he responded, testingly. We talked for a while longer until I finally decided to go see his protruding house for myself. He was absolutely right. Part of his house did, in fact, lie in the street. I discovered this is called overlapping. He didn't know it was called overlapping. He only knew that every time he stepped out of his front door, a car could hit him. He also didn't know how much of the land actually belonged to him, or to his neighbor's. As a matter of fact, he hadn't thought very much about it. But this is another example of overlapping: one person's property running into another person's property. Not many people are aware of this tremendous problem that now exists in Park City. The person who planned Park City drew his plans on a desk top in Boston, Massachusetts. He knew very little about the terrain of the area. For example, he figured Park City was flat. Not very perceptive figuring. I wouldn't want to put the blame for the overlapping that plagues us today on one person, but it's mostly his fault. I mean, Park City is not exactly the flatlands of kansas. At the turn of the century, when the fire swept through town, people scrambled back to their houses and assumed they knew where they previously existed. I wasn't around then, but it must have been a little chaotic, what with everybody claiming their old houses and not taking the time to figure out if they owned them. And if their houses were completely burned down, then they simply built where they assumed was the right place. Well, all that happened a long time ago, yet the repercussions are still being felt. There are a lot of houses in this town that are not on their own property. They overlap (there's that word again) into someone else's property. Consequently, many people are unable to get clear title to their property because they don't know where it is. Never mind the houses for a moment. Consider Main Street. If our most important street in town had been built according to the way the Bostonian wanted it, we would have cars crashing through stores and buildings. Main Street was originally planned to be wider, therefore the street itself would exist within the stores and buildings. Of course, all of this sounds a little ridiculous, but so is overlapping. Webster defines overlap as, "to lap over (something else or each other); extend over and cover a part of." Also, "to cover and extend beyond (something else)." There's always the possibility that overlapping could mushroom. It's a very serious problem when you consider the following: If my property lapses into your property, what's to prevent my pets and plants from lapping overyourpets and plants? But pets and plants are basically harmless considering they wouldn't create much friction between neighbors; that is, unless one happens to be a Veterinarian Horticulturist. However, from pets and plants come trees and shrubbery, then backyards and porches. So, what we have in essence is a gathering or merging of one person's belongings into another person's -belongings. The real conflict arises when values and lifestyles lap together. All of this is called, "The Mushroom Theory of Overlap." What I'm getting at is simply this: Park City could eventually become a very tight community, but maybe not the kind of tightness that we would all agree upon. I don't think this problem will continue much longer because the Property Committee is going to meet later' in the month "to try to resolve conflicts concerning overlapping." I think we'll be in much better shape when we finally know who owns what, not to mention where, how, and when. Alas, the conversation ended on a note of optimism. The young man decided that either he would move the street further from his house, or vice versa. He did not want to commit the sin of overlapping anymore. As he opened the door to leave for the night, I heard the Ten O'Clock Whistle. |