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Property owner tells Humboldt County he will fence a 200-foot strip he says reverted after rails-to-trails ruling
Summary
During public comment, landowner Ron Rudolph said a 200-foot strip crossing his Rutland Township property should revert to adjoining owners after a Supreme Court decision, and that he plans to fence both ends of the strip; county staff said they would pass his materials to appropriate offices.
At the public-comment portion of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meeting, landowner Ron Rudolph told supervisors he believes a 200-foot-wide strip that crosses his Section 28 property in Rutland Township has reverted to private ownership following a recent Supreme Court ruling.
Rudolph said the Supreme Court decision (which he cited as "US 12-11-73" in his remarks) overturned the rails-to-trails protections he had expected. He said he is a successor to the original owner and that, based on condemnation proceedings he reviewed, the land should revert when a railroad is abandoned. Rudolph said county officials had earlier asked him to remove a sign and threatened enforcement; he said he did so but never relinquished ownership.
Rudolph told the board, "I intend to fence off both ends of that 200 foot strip at my property lines. And you people have no legal basis to make me take that fence down." He asked whether the county would deed the property back to him or otherwise act; board members said they would forward his documents to the county attorney’s office and the conservation board for review.
County staff told Rudolph they would accept a copy of his documentation and investigate; supervisors said the issue could end up in court and thanked him for bringing it to the board’s attention.
Ending: County staff agreed to review Rudolph’s submitted materials and pass them to legal staff and the conservation board; no action was taken at the meeting.
