Maps suggest ‘no man's land'
The newest bid by some property owners in west Linda to keep, or at least be compensated for, land they believe they own has to do with technical terms in property ownership.
New maps found by one of the affected property owners, Cheryl Miller, suggest the land in question was a "no man's land" left out of a state purchase of property near the Feather River from a railroad a half-century ago.
Since then, the property owners have established a fence line on the land in question, and the bid by the Central Valley Flood Protection Board and the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority to reassert ownership to install a corridor isn't in line with the facts, those owners have said.
READ: Linda property owners make last-ditch effort to stop state
Because those property owners acted as if the land was theirs in the intervening years, and because they were never told otherwise until recently, they essentially owned it through what's known as adverse possession, states a letter submitted by Miller to the state.
The affected property — which constitutes small portions on the levee side of about 50 parcels — was thus entitled to compensation from the state, under eminent domain, if the flood board wanted to put in a new fence and access road.
State officials said they have not seen anything so far to suggest the questioned land was ever a "no man's land."
Under the ruling approved by the board at a hearing in Marysville last month, a handful of the affected property owners will receive licenses to continue using the state land.
CONTACT Ben van der Meer at bvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4786. Find him on Facebook at /ADbvandermeer or on Twitter at @ADbvandermeer.
