The railroad crossing that has been
landlocking Briggs Road residents for the past ten years has been recognized by
Los Angeles County as a legitimate crossing. Norm Hickling, deputy to Los
Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, made the announcement at a
community meeting in Agua Dulce Monday night, February 10, 2014.
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| Sunrise at the Three Sisters |
It is the first encouraging move
toward the result for which our community has been struggling, namely to be
able to drive to our homes by a legal route of reasonable distance and construction.
For a decade our path to our properties has been neither legally our own nor of
a truly manageable length or condition.
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| Is the End in Sight? |
I promised I would say it and now I
will. My hat is off to you, Mr. Hickling. From where we sat it appeared that
Los Angeles County was locked into a position from which it could not gracefully
extricate itself. We do not know enough about the actions of other players, but
Norm Hickling is exhibiting the kind of grace and sophistication that seems to
elude so many public figures—and thank you for that, sir.
I want also, at this point, to give
Norm all the credit he is due. And I most certainly do not want any undeserved credit
given to this blog. Norm Hickling was making promising statements before I made a single post. It was his
remark that he was working on the railroad crossing that first encouraged me to
begin this blog. You see, we had been bitterly disappointed before, and I
decided to do anything I could to prevent that from happening again. Others in
the neighborhood pitched in with the same resolve.
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| One Giant Step for LA County |
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| Our Next Hurdle: Crossing the Santa Clara River |
Stay with us! And we love those
comments! Keep ‘em coming!
Yes, the meeting was very positive, and many thanks to Norm. This will sound more conspiracy theory than anything, but it is strange, that after some 8 years of Title Ins. time & money to get their clients legal access, they finally give up, pay off homeowners, and months later the County says " well, I guess you could have crossed the RR tracks after all ". Was somebody sitting on that info till the Title Ins. was out of the picture ? And why ? Or just a weird coincidence ?
ReplyDeleteAt this point I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. I think everyone would agree that it is puzzling how long this went on but the good news is it looks like the county is moving towards completing the access issues. I understand frustration on the part of the homeowners but expressing anger - which is justified - doesn't get anyone anywhere. I saw some frustration and anger at the meeting but everyone agreed the bottom line was access was the most important issue. And I think that is the thing everyone should focus on. I read a comment that no one could have pulled permits - the Fire Dept. would never allow permits - one can express their opinion - but I know permits were pulled so I am not sure where that came from. Calling out Norm Hinkling and making negative comments at this stage of negotations just doesn't make sense.
ReplyDeleteI agree--though I can understand the curiosity. But this is the time for gratitude and hope that Los Angeles County will support us all the way across the river.
ReplyDeleteYes, it has been a long time, but think of how crystallized anyone's position--even ours--can become over time. Everyone who participated in this recent decision deserves our highest respect right now, especially because it has been long in coming. This could not have been easy. Think how it would feel going to someone you slighted long ago and saying, "You know, I've been thinking..."
Also, if the issue about Fire Department approvals comes from my previous blog, I apologize for any confusion. My reason for bringing that up (before this historic meeting) was to point out inconsistencies in an old email, not to find fault with the Fire Department or anyone involved in the present.
Could it be you have made Los Angeles County look bad and they want you off there back. Is it possible they don't want people looking at them . Could Los Angles County want to stay way back in the dark so no one can see what they are doing . I hope no one think they just found the rail crossing was ok. It his been ok all along so what can you do cry . Or do you think they really will let you cross the river . I read in a post not long ago about the lies told by a MR. Novak from Los Angeles County trying to stop you before you even got started. Do you think the people that want to kill you off will stop or just change pants and keep killing you off. They are in a race to get Antonovich out the door and keep you right where you are . Good luck you will need it
ReplyDeleteI hope your end is in sight but be aware of promises that do not come true.
ReplyDeleteIt's not anger we need to worry about it integrity that we need to worry about. Can anyone remember the meeting in the past when many promises were made and none were keep. Oh yes things could be different this time or they may not be. After the big push to move the county in to doing the right thing we get a promise . Don't get me wrong a promise is good a lot better than no promise but not access and what I think we all need the most is access.
ReplyDeleteMy tires have not crossed the tracks, I have not seen a crossing permit with my name or address on it. The pile of dirt and rubble has not moved blocking our crossing.
ReplyDeleteWe had our hopes up for our road out the back which was going to be graded by the fire dept with cut and fill slopes, more gentle grades, a nice width... It never happened.
I look forward with optimism to getting access and putting this all behind us. I just can't help to be a little skeptical after everything that has happened. If we had something more solid than words and promises... Railroad crossing permit,
dirt pile removed. I may be too trusting believing that these things are in motion, but I will give the benefit of doubt 1 more time. A lot can be achieved in the next 30 days or so before next meeting.
I was just wondering if you or anyone has a date for access to the road you want to get to . From reading all you guys have been through I would hope they who every they are would tell you what and when will happen. Do you think you will be back to a real road by July 4 . If so would call call for an independence day party on your road
ReplyDeleteNo date, nothing definite, no assurance. I like your Independence Day idea though!
DeleteYou know, we could be back on a real road tomorrow if the right people decided to allow it. It's not like waiting for a road to be built!
This situation has made the County look very bad. It is good to see there is effort being made to correct a huge wrong. The disparity between what is expected of the residents and what the owner of Oasis and the filming industry are allowed to do is a black mark on the integrity of those involved. To threaten to arrest residents if they so much as "roll one tire into the water" - and then allow movie trucks to drive back and forth is laughable - except I am sure this is not funny to you guys. I believe, at this point, Norm Hinkling is doing a good job of cleaning up the County's black eye. Besides the water crossing issue and the rail crossing - the idea the MRCA somehow ends up with that large plot of land and then decide they didn't want to grant access looked more than suspicious. So, let's hope everything goes well and you guys are driving to your homes in the near future. It is long past due. Good for you guys for not giving up.
ReplyDeleteThank you! A few thousand more clear-sighted individuals like you and what a difference we could make!
DeleteI was just wondering if any of you have got word on your new access to the outside world Have not seen anything about it
ReplyDeleteThere is no new access to the outside world. The opening of the railroad crossing is not enough to get us to the street. Please see the next post for a synopsis of our present situation, and future posts for more details.
DeleteThanks for reading and caring! And thanks in advance for continuing to read and care!