When submitting a Wayspot Appeal, make sure to include as much of the following information as possible:
Humpty Dumpty Little Free Library
(50.9455405, -114.1364841)
Calgary
Canada
No rejection email was received. This Wayspot was accepted through Wayfarer, appeared in Pokémon GO for over a week, and was subsequently removed.
Additional Information:
I’m hoping to get some clarification regarding the recent removal of the Humpty Dumpty Little Free Library at 579 Woodbine Blvd SW in Calgary, Alberta.
This Wayspot was nominated and accepted through Wayfarer within the last few weeks. It subsequently appeared in Pokémon GO as a PokéStop but I noticed today that it has been removed from the game and Wayfarer Map.
The Little Free Library is a permanent, publicly accessible structure located outside a residential property, but it is situated on public City of Calgary property rather than on private residential property. It is accessible from the public sidewalk and is available for members of the community to use.
The Wayspot also meets the general criteria for a Little Free Library as a community oriented location that encourages reading, sharing and interaction among local residents. It is a permanent physical object with a clear, identifiable location.
Because the Wayspot was recently reviewed and accepted, I’m concerned that its removal may have been the result of an incorrect report or misunderstanding about its location.
Could someone please review the removal and confirm whether this Wayspot was removed in error? If there is a specific eligibility issue that I’m overlooking, I would also appreciate clarification so I can understand what caused the removal.
Little Free Libraries are often removed for being on Single Family Private Residential Property (SFPRP). Can you provide a photo since it’s not on Streetview yet?
Hello, I have provided some photos of it on street view as well as some information since I also posted about this situation on Reddit, and another user kindly took the time to look into the official property records and investigate the exact location of the Little Free Library.
According to the parcel map they found, the private residential property line is approximately 3.02 metres (9.9 feet) back from the public sidewalk. They compared this with the Street View location of the Little Free Library, which appears to be only approximately 4 feet from the sidewalk. This indicates that the Little Free Library is located on the street side of the documented private property boundary, rather than within the single-family residential parcel.
They provided both a wider view of the parcel layout and a close-up showing where the property boundary falls, as the aerial view alone can make the measurement somewhat unclear.
I am attaching their property-line documentation as additional evidence because I believe this may clarify why the Wayspot should not be considered to be located on private residential property. The Little Free Library itself is still physically present and appears to be located on public/municipal property outside the residential parcel.
I hope this additional information helps with reviewing the removal, as the Wayspot was previously accepted and appeared in Pokémon GO before being removed.
A general guideline for looking at property lines globally is that anything between the sidewalk and the property is part of the property and anything from the sidewalk to the roadside is public. This isn’t true everywhere, but it is a good start.
If the property line in reality is not where people think it is, including the homeowners, i.e. at the sidewalk, then you need to provide the actual evidence of this, not just a discussion where someone says they found the evidence.
Those images are not evidence, as they could have come from anywhere.
Hey! After your comment I spent the last hour looking through Calgary’s parcel maps, property assessment information, and different map layers to verify the exact location of this Little Free Library.
After checking the registered parcel boundaries, I found that the library does appear to be approximately one foot inside the residential property’s parcel.
However, I believe the physical setup and intended use of this Little Free Library are important context. It is positioned at the very front edge of the property, immediately beside the public sidewalk and close to the road rather than near the home itself. The owners have even created a small dedicated walkway from the public sidewalk directly to the library so that members of the community can access it without needing to approach the house. There is also a bench beside the library, further indicating that this was intentionally created as a community space rather than a private feature for the homeowners.
It seems as though it specifically intended for members of the public to freely access, exchange, and take books. Its placement, dedicated public access path and bench all demonstrate that it was deliberately designed to function as a community amenity accessible to people passing by.
I understand that the parcel itself is residential but I hope the review can take into consideration the actual nature, purpose and public accessibility of this particular object rather than treating it as a private residential feature. I have spent considerable time verifying its location and am submitting this additional information in good faith in hopes that the Wayspot can be reconsidered.
Thank you so much for the information. I’m going to contact the city to make sure the property lines I’m seeing on the website tool I’m using are correct before I close this case
Trying to track the appropriate law, reacting to it, and tracking changes to said laws, for every wayspot in the game is likely to be prohibitively expensive.
Little Free Libraries are always put up for the public to interact with; there is nothing different about that one in this regard.
The SFPRP rule is very strict with no exceptions and no overrides. A property owner cannot say that their property is OK - the main reason for this is probably because property often changes owner and Scopely Explore would have to track this to know when “this is OK” is now defunct, which would be virtually impossible.
