Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I live in a FEDERAL Homestead area in southern CA. (left over from the 50's). The wind turbine companies are coming in, denuding the area of all plants & animals (including condors, eagles, migrating birds, desert tortoises, etc Joshua trees, sage, etc) and building 500 foot tall monstrosities that are not benefitting the electrical grid to the same level that it is causing destruction... I am pro alternate energy, but not for destroying the environment. Their Environmental Impact Reports are bought & paid for as are the local "officials" -- they are about to illegally cut us off from our access roads (landlock) as well as our access to our water (city meters -- provided when I / we applied for building permits 25 years ago). We designed & built a small work of art / home which, to us, cannot be replaced. They are trying to force us out.
Question: How do I go about filing an injunction to keep them from closing two specific main roads (67th & Arroyo out in Mojave) and / or filing for Prescriptive Easements? -- as both roads have been used daily for over 25 years (I know 5 years is the requirement in CA). This affects a handful of land & homeowners still living out here. We also need to find a lawyer who will work on contingency (30-50%?)against a whole panel of lawyers working for the wind turbine thieves.
irene
2 Answers from Attorneys
The era of true homesteading was in the 1850s. I know in the 1950s the Forest Service and perhaps the BLM and other agencies were making deals allowing citizens to acquire cabin sites, but that was a long way from giving up a fee simple interest. Therefore, I'm not sure whether you hold title to your homesite or enjoy its use under some kind of permit or lease. This is crucial to the rights you can assert and the forum in which to assert them. If you are true landowners, Kern (I suppose you are in Kern County) County Superior Court.
Prescriptive easements are shown by continuous use over five years, but you cannot claim an easement against the government or its subdivisions. I would start by addressing your concerns to the county supervisor in your district.
If the roads are public, there is a different process for pursuing claims agains government entities, i.e., to force them to keep the roads open to the public, and you would not go directly to court, but would follow administrative and government claims procedures.
I agree with Mr. Whipple. I write further to point out that if you are looking to sue the government to keep real property, you are not going to find an attorney that would handle that on a contingency basis, because even if successful, the attorney would get nothing for his or her time.
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