Issues with a private driveway ramp

Hey. We bought a plot by the coast and built a little vacation house. We got the whole thing legalized and sorted out all the property records and deeds. There was this dirt path leading to our lot—it was basically just a goat trail—since we’re the second property off the main road. Back in 2015, when Exelon came out to hook up our electricity, they actually widened and leveled the path for us. Now, the neighbor who lives third in line is claiming it's a private road and saying we aren't allowed to use it. He and another neighbor who built his place about 30 years ago are the ones listed on the deed. We even tried offering them cash to settle things so we could use the path, but they turned us down. The road goes past a few other lots too—mostly old farmland—one of which is owned by some lady from the States. Honestly, we haven't even driven our car to our place because we don't want the drama. But now, this neighbor decided to sell his land since it's zoned for residential use. He and the other neighbor put up a vertical barrier right at the entrance from the main road. I'm wondering if he's even allowed to do that? I mean, God forbid something happens—firefighters or paramedics wouldn't be able to reach our place. What can we even do about this? lp

Look, if we're talking about a public path—something more like a hiking trail listed in the county records as a public right-of-way—then yeah, nobody can block pedestrians or animals from passing through. But that doesn't mean he's obligated to let you drive your car down his private driveway just because it connects to the road. I'm not sure what kind of lock he’s using, but usually, those gates have specialized locks that the local fire department can bypass in an emergency.

I guess the real solution would be to buy that strip of land, or maybe some other plot that links your property to the main road, and just build your own private driveway there... assuming you actually have the cash for that. Or, you know, try to strike a deal with him. Maybe things could work out.

William Nelson59 said:Hey. We bought a plot by the coast and built a little vacation house. We got the whole thing legalized and sorted out all the property records and deeds. There was this dirt path leading to our lot—it was basically just a goat trail—since we’re the second property off the main road. Back in 2015, when Exelon came out to hook up our electricity, they actually widened and leveled the path for us. Now, the neighbor who lives third in line is claiming it's a private road and saying we aren't allowed to use it. He and another neighbor who built his place about 30 years ago are the ones listed on the deed. We even tried offering them cash to settle things so we could use the path, but they turned us down. The road goes past a few other lots too—mostly old farmland—one of which is owned by some lady from the States. Honestly, we haven't even driven our car to our place because we don't want the drama. But now, this neighbor decided to sell his land since it's zoned for residential use. He and the other neighbor put up a vertical barrier right at the entrance from the main road. I'm wondering if he's even allowed to do that? I mean, God forbid something happens—firefighters or paramedics wouldn't be able to reach our place. What can we even do about this? lp

Look, when you purchased that lot, there wasn't an established road—did you realize that emergency services might have to hike in to reach you?

Still, I’d suggest that—if possible, maybe coordinate with that owner from the US—you find a solid attorney. You don't want someone local who's likely in bed with the neighbors, nor do you want someone selling you fairy tales. Ask them about trying to have that path designated as a fire access road. If that works, the neighbor wouldn't be able to block it—though, honestly, how that plays out in real life is anyone's guess.

Jose Williams78 said:Look, if we're talking about a public path—something more like a hiking trail listed in the county records as a public right-of-way—then yeah, nobody can block pedestrians or animals from passing through. But that doesn't mean he's obligated to let you drive your car down his private driveway just because it connects to the road. I'm not sure what kind of lock he’s using, but usually, those gates have specialized locks that the local fire department can bypass in an emergency.

I guess the real solution would be to buy that strip of land, or maybe some other plot that links your property to the main road, and just build your own private driveway there... assuming you actually have the cash for that. Or, you know, try to strike a deal with him. Maybe things could work out.

Thanks for the info. Yeah, we knew when we bought the place that the road was listed as private property in the county records (it has its own parcel number labeled ROAD, owned by this guy or that guy). Honestly, I don't get how someone can even own a road as private property? There are like ten residential lots there now (they used to be just fields...). It basically means if someone buys a lot there, they wouldn't be able to get in by car or truck. The road was totally overgrown anyway; nobody would've bothered driving there. But look, now that Exelon has expanded things, our neighbor is being difficult. Even though we offered him money, he won't let us access our property by car. Walking is fine, I guess, though he grumbles about that too. We always just park at the first neighbor's place near the street; he lets us. But this whole thing with him putting up a gate caught us off guard. I guess the question is, is he actually allowed to put a gate there?

William Nelson59 said:Thanks for the info. Yeah, we knew when we bought the place that the road was listed as private property in the county records (it has its own parcel number labeled ROAD, owned by this guy or that guy). Honestly, I don't get how someone can even own a road as private property? There are like ten residential lots there now (they used to be just fields...). It basically means if someone buys a lot there, they wouldn't be able to get in by car or truck. The road was totally overgrown anyway; nobody would've bothered driving there. But look, now that Exelon has expanded things, our neighbor is being difficult. Even though we offered him money, he won't let us access our property by car. Walking is fine, I guess, though he grumbles about that too. We always just park at the first neighbor's place near the street; he lets us. But this whole thing with him putting up a gate caught us off guard. I guess the question is, is he actually allowed to put a gate there?

If there is a physical road there, maybe you could head down to the local municipal office and ask them to register it as a public local road under California ownership, and then hopefully the whole issue will just resolve itself. (You might want to check out the state highway laws, specifically articles 123 through 133)

Kenneth Cruz67 said:If there is a physical road there, maybe you could head down to the local municipal office and ask them to register it as a public local road under California ownership, and then hopefully the whole issue will just resolve itself. (You might want to check out the state highway laws, specifically articles 123 through 133)

Thanks for the reply. The thing is, how do you even request that? Like, is it a formal petition or something?
I guess we'll see if those local officials actually give a damn. lp

In a situation like that, would the local municipality be required to compensate the owner?

Kenneth Cruz67 said:If there is a physical road there, maybe you could head down to the local municipal office and ask them to register it as a public local road under California ownership, and then hopefully the whole issue will just resolve itself. (You might want to check out the state highway laws, specifically articles 123 through 133)

From what I can tell, that law is talking about unclassified public roads, not private ones.

I honestly think the OP should go back and read that other thread on Service Trips, or maybe the admin should just link these two together.

My two cents? Just sit down with the guy and try to find some middle ground if you can. Otherwise, you might end up getting screwed in a lawsuit and having to pay all the legal fees too.

Did you even ask him if he was cool with you driving through his property before you bought the land and started building? What was his reaction?

Quincy:

Jose Williams78 (No content provided to rewrite.) From what I can tell, this law is only talking about public roads, not private ones. I guess. Maybe the OP should check out that other thread about the service trip, or maybe the admin just needs to link these topics together. I guess. My advice? Just talk to the guy and try to find some middle ground if you can. Otherwise, you might end up losing big time in a lawsuit and having to eat all those legal fees too. I guess. Did you guys actually ask him if he was cool with you driving vehicles across his land before you bought the lot and started building? I wonder how he even reacted to that.

I hate to admit it, but we totally dropped the ball when buying our lot. We checked the property itself, but didn't bother looking at the road status in the county records. We just assumed the road was public or shared by everyone. Turns out, it’s private. We eventually dug through the records and saw that clearly, but honestly, you couldn't even drive a car through there anyway—it was just overgrown brush. The real headache started once Exelon planned to widen the road. Suddenly, the neighbor showed up and told us we aren't allowed to drive onto our own land. To be fair, we've never even driven a vehicle out there ourselves. We tried offering him some cash to settle things, but he wouldn't take it. We aren't looking to sue anyone or anything, but that ramp he installed is definitely starting to worry us. That's really why I'm posting this here.

Jose Williams78 said:From what I can tell, that law is talking about unclassified public roads, not private ones.

I honestly think the OP should go back and read that other thread on Service Trips, or maybe the admin should just link these two together.

My two cents? Just sit down with the guy and try to find some middle ground if you can. Otherwise, you might end up getting screwed in a lawsuit and having to pay all the legal fees too.

Did you even ask him if he was cool with you driving through his property before you bought the land and started building? What was his reaction?

In the US, local communities generally have the right to take ownership of any road or thoroughfare that is being used by the public, regardless of whether it is technically private property, and this can often happen without providing compensation to the owners.

Technically speaking, true private roads don't really exist in that sense. Well, they do, but then you essentially need to run it like a business—handling registration, billing, maintenance, insurance, and everything else an entity like ExxonMobil would manage.

It’s pretty straightforward, really; basically anything that functions as a path or a road used by the general public can be transitioned into state ownership without too much of a headache.

Of course, I assume this applies specifically to roads and paths that were already established by the time the law was passed.

If a road was developed after that date, then it ought to have all the proper permits and official designs in place.

If the former owner happens to have some grievances, I guess they could always try to take it to court.

Kenneth Cruz67 said:In the US, local communities generally have the right to take ownership of any road or thoroughfare that is being used by the public, regardless of whether it is technically private property, and this can often happen without providing compensation to the owners.

Technically speaking, true private roads don't really exist in that sense. Well, they do, but then you essentially need to run it like a business—handling registration, billing, maintenance, insurance, and everything else an entity like ExxonMobil would manage.

It’s pretty straightforward, really; basically anything that functions as a path or a road used by the general public can be transitioned into state ownership without too much of a headache.

Of course, I assume this applies specifically to roads and paths that were already established by the time the law was passed.

If a road was developed after that date, then it ought to have all the proper permits and official designs in place.

If the former owner happens to have some grievances, I guess they could always try to take it to court.

But what does "public use" actually mean?

A goat trail or a pedestrian walkway doesn't necessarily count as a vehicle road just because someone widened a street and ended up encroaching on someone else's land.

Based on what you're saying, I could basically roll up to my neighbor's yard with an excavator while he's away, bulldoze a path through his property, run down to City Hall to get it registered as a public road, and he’d lose his backyard in a heartbeat? Is that how this works?

Honestly, I’d suggest the person who started this thread check the county land records first to see if that little trail is actually logged as a public way. Start there. See where the boundaries are. If it isn't on the books, things get a lot messier—especially if the neighbor is a local favorite and everyone else is an outsider who won't bother testifying for them.

Jose Williams78 said:But what does "public use" actually mean?

A goat trail or a pedestrian walkway doesn't necessarily count as a vehicle road just because someone widened a street and ended up encroaching on someone else's land.

Based on what you're saying, I could basically roll up to my neighbor's yard with an excavator while he's away, bulldoze a path through his property, run down to City Hall to get it registered as a public road, and he’d lose his backyard in a heartbeat? Is that how this works?

Honestly, I’d suggest the person who started this thread check the county land records first to see if that little trail is actually logged as a public way. Start there. See where the boundaries are. If it isn't on the books, things get a lot messier—especially if the neighbor is a local favorite and everyone else is an outsider who won't bother testifying for them.

Well, no, you definitely can't—or rather, you can't do that anymore. The law specifically applies to roads and paths that were already being used by the public at the time the legislation was passed. For any brand-new paths or roads, you'd still need to go through the whole process of getting official designs and permits approved. Plus, I think the original poster already mentioned that the county records show a path that has been there for quite some time, even if it was widened back in 2015.

Though, I suppose technically you could try—you could cut a path through someone's land, and if that person doesn't file an objection within 30 days, they might lose the ability to simply block you and would instead have to take legal action to stop you.🤔

Kenneth Cruz67 said:Well, no, you definitely can't—or rather, you can't do that anymore. The law specifically applies to roads and paths that were already being used by the public at the time the legislation was passed. For any brand-new paths or roads, you'd still need to go through the whole process of getting official designs and permits approved. Plus, I think the original poster already mentioned that the county records show a path that has been there for quite some time, even if it was widened back in 2015.

Though, I suppose technically you could try—you could cut a path through someone's land, and if that person doesn't file an objection within 30 days, they might lose the ability to simply block you and would instead have to take legal action to stop you.🤔

The road’s been on the property records for maybe 30 years now. Back when the other neighbor was building his vacation house. Between then and 2015, the road basically turned into brush because neither neighbor was even driving to their lots. When that guy was building, they probably used tractors to haul construction materials over there.
Thanks for the help, I guess. If anyone knows who we should actually talk to, let us know. This area falls under the San Diego city jurisdiction.

William Nelson59 said:The road’s been on the property records for maybe 30 years now. Back when the other neighbor was building his vacation house. Between then and 2015, the road basically turned into brush because neither neighbor was even driving to their lots. When that guy was building, they probably used tractors to haul construction materials over there.
Thanks for the help, I guess. If anyone knows who we should actually talk to, let us know. This area falls under the San Diego city jurisdiction.

I'd suggest reaching out to the city administration.