An acre of land is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary as a unit of land measurement equal to 43,560 square feet or else 4,047 square meters. If you want to build on a piece of land in the Town of Edson, you’ll need two such units. If not planning to build, a oneacre schoolhouse plot that was grandfathered in will do just fine—like the one located in the northeast corner of the southeast quarter of Section 18 of Edson township, along County G to the south of Highway 29.

As things were made known at the Edson town meeting Wednesday September 9, a town resident had all the land that he wanted when it came to legal ownership, and didn’t want more—in other words, NOT the usual boundary issue surveyors deal with.

“We have a unique situation here,” Surveyor Rick Denzine told Edson town officials of the attempt to tweak the land parcel’s boundaries and update it for the records book. The town resident happy with his current land footprint is also the brother-in-law for Edson town clerk Marie Wilbur, with the plot of land itself dating back 150 years, or before the two-acre building requirement was imposed upon Edson residents. Originally used for a country schoolhouse, the rectangular-shaped one-acre land parcel had started getting used for residential purposes starting in the 1970s, as small country districts had been or were being absorbed by far away town ones. Being that the old schoolhouse lot in question was over a century old, it had no description in county land records beyond “one acre in the northeast corner,” and Denzine had been trying to adjust the lot’s boundaries somewhat to encompass a total of 1.14 acres, or the amount that Wilbur’s brother-in-law currently maintained.

“He used it, but it was actually hers,” Chairman Don Schesel said of the extra 0.14 acres said to comprise a couple of lawnmower swipes near the residence. Part of the lawn at the site lies outside the official legal boundary, per a Google eye view. Neither the lawn or its use is an issue between the two property owners, but for legal reasons and in case future building is ever sought there needed to be a boundary adjustment. No building was reported as being either imminent or planned on the property as of September 9.

“I get that as the land surveyor, but I’m not the property owner,” Denzine replied to Schesel of the lawn outside the one-acre boundary. Making things harder to resolve, however, was the fact that the one acre site is near two right-ofways, a county highway and one other road, while the passage of time made it impossible to answer if the first surveyors had taken any of this into account—in other words, they were long dead, and unconsultable. Could there be an exception made to the rule in terms of the property in question?

“I don’t know,” Schesel said. “I would have to say it wouldn’t comply with what we did with the other people.” The town had previously had variance and fencing issues, though these had been between neighbors as opposed to relatives. The thought was floated to offer Charlie more land, or for him to simply continue maintaining the land he had.

“I can let him know that,” Wilbur said of the different suggestions made, with the decision left to the two landowners. After more discussion, the decision was made to leave things as they were at present and readdress the matter in the future. With a motion by Schesel that was seconded by Supervisor Mike Sande, the issue was tabled. From there it was into the usual town business, with three building permits being approved, one for a resident named Brad building a horse shed on 88 acres, another for Charles Nolt with a 12 x 20 foot used utility shed, and a third for Joel Weaver on the former Wayne Soeller farm, undecided but reportedly thinking of putting in a 42 x 60 foot garage and shop combination. Speaking of garages, Denzine offered another scenario in relation to land boundary disputes Wednesday: the garage in limbo.

“We’ll sell you three feet so you at least own your garage,” he said of a common property survey issue between neighbors. “Happens all the time.”