Harrison Park Victims County Officials Meet
by Bobbi Zane

Harrison Park fire victims first meeting, May 13, in Dianne Jacobs office to discuss property lines, debris removal and septic issues.

Harrison Park fire victims who have been challenged in getting reconstruction under way met for a second time May 24 with County Supervisor Dianne Jacob and county officials to approach a tangled mess of property-line issues.

The meeting in Julian Town Hall brought about 100 people together to discuss issues affecting the rebuilding process in the small community where nearly all homes were destroyed. The meeting was a continuation of one held May 13 in the supervisor’s El Cajon office; about 40 people attended that meeting, where some questions were answered while still others surfaced.

"I caution everyone against getting greedy in this process...The best way to solve the property-line issues is neighbor-to-neighbor," Jacobs said. "If you can agree with your neighbors (on location of the property lines), each of you will have property lines on which you can get a title and will pass inspection."

County staff members brought maps that had been developed to show real property lines, based upon survey lines established as correct previously. An assessor’s number identified each parcel so owners would be able to locate their own. Parcels were grouped into big squares, identifying working groups of owners, who would work as teams to solve boundary issues within that section of the grid.

The objective of this approach is to give neighbors manageable sections in which to resolve any issues.

The turmoil dates back to the 1920s, when the land was divided into 20-foot by 82-foot lots and sold for $10 for campsites. There was no requirement for a subdivision, no roads or road right-or-ways were included, and property lines were not recorded.

The county attempted to remedy this chaotic situation in the 1950s and again in 1972 but was not successful. Now, many property lines are in dispute, and some water and septic systems are not actually on the same property as the home to which they were attached.

Victims were urged to work together to settle disputes. If everything matches in a single section, the permit process is fairly straightforward and could be completed quickly, according to Jeff Murphy, chief of the building department.

"If anything is on another lot, you’ll need to relocate the structure, do a boundary adjustment or obtain the property," he said.

Within a working group of homeowners, as many boundary adjustments can be made as are needed to solve the problem. Fees would run between $200 and $900 per group.

Some complained that neighbors were asking for payment in excess of value to adjust the boundaries, with one person at the meeting calling the action "extortion."

Murphy said most setback requirements for buildings would be waived. Exceptions would be road and floodplain easements. There also could be some issues in connection with septic and water systems, he said. Septic systems that don’t meet today’s legal standards or are on adjacent property will need to be relocated; no easements for septic is permitted. Wells, on the other hand, can be shared.

Those living in trailers were assured they could continue to do so up to three years, as long as they keep their permits in force. They’ll need to call for an inspection every six months for this purpose.

Jacob said small group meetings for each working group would begin the first week in June.