Compromise sought on west Linda levee fences

Property owners in west Linda will huddle with state and local flood-control officials to come up with a solution to fences encroaching on levee property owned by the state.

Before the Central Valley Flood Protection Board's Jan. 27 meeting, a compromise between leaving the fences as is and in some cases tearing down buildings technically on state property will have to be found, those involved said.

"It's really, where do we build the next fence?" said Paul Brunner, executive director for the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority, which informed about 50 property owners along Riverside Drive and Feather River Boulevard about the encroachment.

Some of those property owners balked, saying they'd owned their land for decades and never been told about a possible encroachment. In three cases, tearing down the fence and moving it further from the toe of the levee would also mean tearing down long-standing buildings.

Len Marino, chief engineer for the Central Valley board, said in reality, in many cases there may be enough space for service vehicles to get through wit out fences being taken out.

"We don't want to disrupt those people's lives," he said.

Last week, the board voted to stay the enforcement orders for the fences, which were to come down in October, and asked for compromise talks, with a resolution board members could vote on next month.

But even if the fences aren't removed, or only removed in some spots, the state still has to work out a solution with property owners who are encroaching, perhaps with some kind of long-term lease, Marino said.

By law, the state can't give the land to the property owners, but it's too soon to say whether they might have to pay for it, he said.

Still, property owners like Susan Lagrand said they are more hopeful now than they were when the enforcement letters arrived during summer.

"We're all going to have to get on it," said Lagrand, who was worried a large storage building on her property would have to be torn down for fences to be moved. "But I think a compromise will be good."

Carol Miller, a Southern California resident who manages property along the levee her parents owned, said she is less sure. Like Lagrand, she spoke at last week's flood board meeting.

"I'm trying to do more research on the land itself," Miller said, adding she would have to cut down fruit trees if the fences are moved. "I'm hoping Three Rivers will work to get something worked out."

Marino said the Central Valley board is concerned about precedent, because many other property owners near Central Valley levees may also be encroaching on state property.

The difference, he said, is the people in west Linda didn't jut into state lands on purpose.

"They built on land they believed was theirs," Marino said.

CONTACT reporter Ben van der Meer at 749-4786.