Conditionally Accepted Dedications and their Impacts

[LS_8750]

From the attached, the 1928 map states that the Board of Supervisors "approve(s) this map and accept(s) for public use all avenues, streets, roads and alley. Said avenues, streets, roads, and alley are not to be maintained at the expense of Sonoma County."

In this case I am dealing with a street, with drainage problems of course. The low point on the street is naturally in front of my client's house. About 15 houses drain onto this street, which periodically floods out my client's and two other down hill properties. There is also a 14 inch storm drain pipe going under my client's property, with no easement. (Nice opportunity to file a RoS showing the drain pipe - though I'm not there yet)

So, it appears I have a County road, apparently not maintained by the County, but rather maintained (and mismanaged) by those 15 parcels who use, or drain their properties onto, the road. And multiple properties on the down hill side of the road are getting flooded as a result of an undersized storm drain, which collects runoff from the road and runs through my client's and other parcels down hill without an easement.

I would like to get the storm drain easement issue cleared up. I have a County Road (not-maintained by the County - huh?) and 15 parcels using this storm drain pipe that runs through my client's property. My client is not using the pipe.

Is it correct to include the County in addition to all affecting uphill parcels as grantees for this easement? And what may be an effective recommendation strategy for helping this client move forward with contacting his neighbors and getting an attorney on board with drafting up the agreements?

Please remember, this problem has existed for probably 30 years or so, and for whatever reason this new owner was not aware of the issue when he bought the property and he just wants to get it fixed. No storm drain easement showed up in his title insurance policy, but the pipe is there. All you gotta do is look down the drain to see where it goes.

Cheers.

[Steve Martin]

Can you set up a Road Improvement District with the County once you get all of those 15 owners on board?