“Is there an easement? That is what matters”
Read tge article and do your homework ...
According to the article, no easement
But that does not mean one does not exist.
Tax maps would help as well. If the land owner is paying taxes, the land is on his deed, and no easement, it is his property, period
The developer even offered alternative means and was willing to deed it to the trail system, but were not good enough for the freeloaders.
Looks like they are trying to use a ‘prescriptive’ easement, which is used in extreme cases, such as land locked properties. But this sounds like it is being used for convenience because the public access to the public property is farther away. That is not what prescriptive easements are used for. They are used for necessity, not convenience.
The property owner is being reasonable here while the freeloaders, of course just want more free stuff