FREMONT — A long-simmering battle over public access to a regional park here has reached a literal roadblock.
For years, rancher Christopher George fought with county, city and parks district officials for control of a section of Morrison Canyon Road, a rural route to his property and to Vargas Plateau Regional Park. The war of words over 1,000 feet of the roadway spiraled into lawsuit and allegations of county corruption.
At long last, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors last month voted to hand responsibility of the 0.2-mile stretch over to George, and within weeks the rancher erected a gate. Just as quickly, an old foe — the city of Fremont — has re-emerged to demand the barrier be torn down, arguing the roadway has been part of the city’s jurisdiction since it incorporated into the county in 1956.
In a letter to George’s attorney dated Nov. 6, City Attorney Rafael Alvarado Jr. wrote that the rancher has “illegally constructed an unpermited gate” across the roadway and that he has “no legal authority” that would allow “a private party to construct a gate over public land.”
“For the past 70 years, the public has used and enjoyed the roadway as a public right of way, and said public use of the roadway has been open, notorious, continuous and adverse to any purported private interest of your client,” Alvarado wrote.
George, who is also the CEO of CMG Financial, a mortgage company, did not respond to requests for comment.
The unlikely battleground has been the center of controversy for nearly two decades. In 2008, George and a neighbor filed a lawsuit over traffic and roadway conditions, leading to a settlement in 2012 that delayed the opening of Vargas Plateau Regional Park while East Bay Regional Park District and the city of Fremont spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve the road and reduce the number of parking spaces at the park.
While the 1,249-acre public park has several other access points for hikers, bikers and horseback riders, it has only one staging area with a parking lot, restrooms and drinking water — which is accessible solely via Morrison Canyon Road.
After settling the suit, George proposed that officials cede ownership of the last 1,000 feet of the road leading to his hundreds-plus acre property.
George has claimed that people have used the remote strip of road as a location for sex, drug deals and illegal dumping. Speaking before county supervisors on Oct. 9, he said his family’s safety is at risk and urged the board to approve ceding the land over to him.
“This provides a buffer for us of safety. My wife is at home frequently by herself, either during the day or sometimes at night, and as a result this provides safety for her, but also provides safety for the community,” George told the board. “You have cars trying to turn around, you’ve got bicycle riders trying to turn around, you’ve got pedestrians trying to turn around, you’ve got people pushing baby strollers trying to turn around. It’s just unsafe.”
County Public Works Director Daniel Woldesenbet, in comments to the supervisors, said he considers the land the George family’s “private driveway.”
“It really functions as a driveway, even though it was maintained and looked after by the county,” Woldesenbet said. He also said that the county spent over $200,000 on road maintenance over the past five years, adding that the road is in “very poor repair,” due to “eroded shoulders and sharp drops.”
“It’s very much apparent, at least from a public works point of view, that this roadway right now, as it stands, really serves as a private property,” Woldesenbet said. “We don’t think it’s warranted to continue to spend public funds maintaining that small piece of property or piece of road. And we also consider it to be potentially a hazard because there’s a lot of unsafe conditions on the side of the road for public use.”
The supervisors voted unanimously to surrender the land to George, with Supervisor Nate Miley calling the decision a “no-brainer” and Supervisor David Haubert saying it was “justified” and “warranted.”
Haubert’s office had previously faced blowback for an email his chief of staff sent advocating for “abandoning the right of way” and for accepting a $10,000 campaign donation from George’s mortgage company. At the time, the aide told this news organization he was simply passing along a request from a constituent and was shocked that it had raised any allegation of ill intent.
Jason Bezis, an attorney who represents a group of residents advocating against George’s claim to the roadway, called the rancher a “wily operator.” He said installing the gate was “brazen.”
“The law is very clear on this,” Bezis said Wednesday. “You’re not allowed to decide you’re going to put up a gate and a fence across a public road.”
“Why not leave it alone so people can use it?” added Kelly Abreu, a Fremont resident and advocate with Mission Peak Conservancy. “When we lose public spaces, then we end up having to buy the same amenities. This is not an amenity, really it’s a public asset.”
Others told the supervisors they were ignoring the fact that people regularly use the road.
“Why would the county give away this land when it’s part of the public road that many of us use and enjoy daily?” resident Daphne Lin said. “It seems like this is all made up stuff in order to give away public land just to benefit one particular property owner.”
Alvarado, the Fremont city attorney, warned in his letter that the city would monitor George’s property until the gate was gone. As of Wednesday evening, it was still there.
