You can build on the easement! You can build a fence, even a shed if you want to. It’s PA Law.
The utility easement is a right of way for ingress and egress, not to dictate what you erect on your property.
Under Pennsylvania law, it’s permitted to construct enhancements like fences or sheds on your easement. The easement serves as a passage for entry and exit purposes and doesn’t impose restrictions on the installations on your property.
However, as the below notice summarizes, it’s crucial to recognize that should a utility company need to dismantle a portion of your fence for operational reasons, they are not accountable for any resulting damage. This principle was already acknowledged by the board in their notice from November, which explicitly mentioned that the authority will not compensate for damages to landscaping, fences, mulch, etc., because any additions made within the right of way are at the property owner’s risk.
This notification doesn’t mandate the removal of any landscaping, fences, or structures. Instead, it clarifies that if such installations are damaged during the exercise of the authority’s access rights, the authority won’t be liable. This stance by the board confirms that the current demands being placed on me are not in line with the acknowledged easement rights.