Trespassing and speeding

Started by JerryT1 • 3 replies • 1192 views

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JerryT1 (California)
Posts: 6

Posted:

We are a subdivision of 23 parcels and the road we live on is private. We posted signs saying that entry is by permission only. Recently the Sheriff had to block off a portion of our road for a grisly purpose. Given the media coverage, a few members are talking gates and security cameras to keep out the trespassers who want to find the source of the police investigation. This will all taper down but I wanted to research possible solutions that don't involve spending all of our reserves on cameras, etc. Speeding is on us, since it is a private road, but trespassers can be dealt with if we can catch them. General feeling is that we ask trespassers to leave. Maybe other HOAs have had similar concerns.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Do not overly react to a one time event. Let it settle. The public has a very short memory.

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

Best anti-trespassing I ever found was a good neighbor.

Just ask people to watch for lost folks, and when they see someone who is new, politely ask "You look lost, can I help you?"

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

Jerry,

What is your basis for concluding that the road is private?

If the road was ever dedicated as a public road or for dedicated for non-exclusive ingress and egress, it is most likely a public road. This would be the case even if the road was built on easements on private property or if the road was deeded to the public or to a public body. The fact that no public body maintains the road has little bearing on whether the road may be closed to the public.

Does this road pass through your community or does it dead-end? Was there a road in this location before the community was developed? If others have used your road in the past, they may have a prescriptive easement that allows them to use it in perpetuity.

Have you performed a title search to verify that no previous owner dedicated the road to the public? The plat that your developer recorded is going to show only those easements he granted. If some previous owner recorded an easement in, say, 1927 the developer’s plat is not likely to show that.

My association is located in rural Arizona and has about 300 miles of dirt road to maintain. Most of our roads are located on easements on private property. We have had endless debates as to whether the roads are public or private. Based on a 2004 ruling from the Arizona Supreme Court, I say they are public roads; most of the rest of the board disagrees. To date, we have never tried to close any of our roads.

My advice to anyone who wants to claim that their roads are private is to seek qualified legal counsel and get a written opinion. Then buy a lot of insurance coverage because someone is going to sue.

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