Fremont rancher refuses to remove gate after city claims it blocks park access

FREMONT — A bison rancher is appealing the city’s order demanding he remove a gate that blocks public access to a regional park, with a hearing over the matter expected to take place soon.

Rancher Chris George is fighting tooth-and-nail to keep the gate on Morrison Canyon Road in rural Fremont, despite city officials determining it was illegally constructed and blocks a city right-of-way.

A hearing date has not been set but could happen as early as this month. He could face a minimum fine of $100 per day that the fence remains up, according to a notice the city served to the George family in November shortly after the gate’s construction.

The city’s removal order came after the Alameda County Board of Supervisor late last year voted to hand responsibility of the 0.2-mile stretch over to the George family. Within two weeks, the rancher erected a gate, escalating a yearslong fight over the 1,000 feet of road that provides access to Vargas Plateau Regional Park, a popular park for hiking, biking and horseback riding.

According to a notice signed by Israel Vazquez–Comonfort, a city code enforcement officer, George had until Nov. 26 to “immediately” remove the gate “that obstructs the use of the public street,” or face penalties. But George, who did not respond to a request for comment, has refused to dismantle it.

In an earlier letter, Fremont City Attorney Rafael Alvarado Jr. told George and his attorney that the city legally took ownership of the road when it incorporated into Alameda County about seven decades ago.

“For the past seventy years, the public has used and enjoyed the roadway as a public right of way, and said public use of the roadway has been open, notorious, continuous, and adverse to any purported private interest of your client,” Alvarado wrote. He also added that George has “no legal authority” that would allow “a private party to construct a private gate over public land.”

In response, George’s attorney, Clark Morrison, wrote to the city appealing their order, claiming that it was issued “without evidence” that the roadway is a public street.

“The gate and fence are constructed entirely on private property,” Morrison wrote, adding “it is not legally possible” for his clients to have violated any municipal code. He demanded the city rescind the order, which he also claims has “invited and encouraged trespass by certain third parties on the Georges’ private property, and harassment of the Georges by those same third parties.”

The Georges have long battled environmental and public access advocates over the stretch of Morrison Canyon Road.

In 2008, George and a neighbor filed a lawsuit over traffic and roadway conditions, leading to a settlement in 2012 that delayed the opening of Vargas Plateau Regional Park while the East Bay Regional Park District and the city of Fremont spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve the road and reduce the number of parking spaces there.

Jason Bezis, an attorney who represents the anti-gate crowd, told this news organization on Friday that George’s claim to the land is “really outrageous.”

“They’re very much like the Donald Trump ethos, or Donald Trump mindset, of making false statements and hoping that no one questions them,” Bezis said.

He said that the roadway is proven to be “a public road until the City Council says it’s vacated.”

Bezis likened the land fight to one at Martins Beach in San Mateo County. In that case, a judge ruled that a Silicon Valley billionaire was illegally restricting public access to the popular beach by gating off his own driveway and blocking the only road to the ocean. But Bezis’ said the situation in Fremont is more egregious.

“This is just absolutely brazen and not supported by any facts,” he said.