Plaintiff Dave Hammond Letter to Supporters of Easement(October 12, 2023)
Diablo Easement Supporters,
On September 27th-28th a group began the process of installing a wrought iron fence along Mount Diablo Scenic Blvd. on two parcels owned by the Wooten family. Unfortunately, they extended this fence onto the adjacent US Bank property (formerly Bahrami) and completely blocked the easement.
They were also handing out a misleading flyer suggesting that:
THERE IS NO PUBLIC EASEMENT ACROSS 2328 And 2354 Alameda Diablo and that a lawsuit attempting to establish the existence of a public easement across these properties was dismissed.
I filed a complaint yesterday regarding this whole easement dispute and fully expect that this will be settled in Court. I urge you to read this complaint and share it with others who have an interest in seeing a 100-year-old public right of way protected.
Hal Siebert who has lived in Diablo along Mount Diablo Scenic Blvd. has also joined this action.
Dave Hammond
The facts as I see them are simple:
In 1916 the newly created road called Mount Diablo Scenic Blvd started at the centerline of Alameda Diablo and cut diagonally across the flat land, the centerline of this 60-foot-wide roadway easement being the property boundary between what is now the US Bank property (formerly Bahrami) and the vacant Wooten parcel. So initially there were 30 feet of easement on US Bank/Bahrami and the same on Wooten. Hence some of the confusion over the years.
In 1979 the County overlaid this original roadway easement with a new 25-foot-wide riding and hiking easement, placed entirely on the US Bank (formerly Bahrami) property. Specifically, the Southernmost 25 feet of this 2354 Alameda Diablo parcel (now US Bank owned).
When someone extended the wrought iron fence onto the US Bank property, effectively blocking this widely used public right of way, or easement, or dedicated easement, they either did so with full approval of US Bank or they overstepped their authority and blocked a public easement on a neighboring property.
Our complaint seeks to determine who is at fault and to reopen the easement as quickly as possible.
