Re: Is there ever a potential that someone can own water?
If you had a small lake on your property and I had a helicopter place my boat in the middle of it, you could not make me leave. I couldnt get out of the boat and touch your land, but I could motor around all I wanted.<br />
This is interesting. It is not legal anywhere in the US to land lock a person or their property. Originally intended to prevent people from being kept out of their own property, I would presume it could apply to you and your boat, as well. If so, once your boat in on the lake, you could legally cross any and all land you needed to get to and/or from your boat at any time its in that lake. LD - try it and let us know how it goes.
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<br /><br />--------<br /><br />California is in the long slow process of re-acquiring all land that is within 5000-ft of the highest high tide. There are two exceptions, Sea Ranch (above San Francisco) and Malibu (where Bay Watch lives). If your family owns property within 5000-ft of the high tide mark, you may not develop it, you may not change title, you may not sell it (except to the state
and they wont buy it) and no one can inherit it. Upon the death of the owner, the state will pay the estates heirs the
fair value of the property
minus the 50% inheritance tax I image.<br /><br />Problem: people are left holding land they cant do anything with, the
fair value is in the toilet because no one can do anything with the land, and taxes were assessed at a rate when the land could have been developed so they artificially high. Either you sell to the state now or you pay a tax bill every year that may be in excess of the current
fair value of the land. And the state will not buy the land
why should they? The state is going to get the land when the owner dies and in the meantime they are pocketing a ton of cash every year in property taxes.<br /><br />On the other hand, California has some wicked cool coastal access laws. Basically, you can do whatever you need to get to the coast as long as you dont destroy anyones property. Coastal farms usually put in gates and paths and marked signs so the public can access the coast without having to walk across their veggies.<br /><br />There is some fencing that is exempted and you cant cross it The costal access law sunset while the Republicans held both sides of the state legislature. They held back on renewing coastal access until some key campaign contributors had erected fences, then they renewed.