A public easement is a special type of property ownership. When an easement exists on a piece of land, the owner of that land must permit others to use the easement for the stated purpose. If the easement is a public easement, the person who owns the land has to allow members of the public to access a defined area of his land for the reasons stated in the easement. There are numerous forms of land ownership within the United States and within most other common law states.