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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/02/1988, 4A - EMILY STREET RIGHT OF WAY AND HOMELESS PROPOSAL Dan L Toni %—Vafton 1675 ; Osis Vsri'e Pood Los Osos, CA 93�02 MEETING AGEND GATE FEB 2 '88 ITEM # �i cc . cowl azr con / 9 ts' Hf*vosoh ,e:x, � RECEIVED FEB 2 - 1988 CITY CLERK SAN WS OWSPO.CA r A� AI EM D ��►II�IIIIIIIIIIIIIII������' I�IIIIIiII II f II of c,�rson �s OBISP ��y 990 Palm Street/Post Office Box 8100 • San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-8100 (805) az?)rw /(805) 549-7140 W ' ON ;& 2, 1988 / ► , ,�L (/� MEMORANDUM T V 4 i To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council From: Roger Picquet, City Attorney W Subject: Emily Street Right-of-Way and the Homeless Proposal At tonight's Council meeting, you will be considering a proposal by Mr. Emmons Blake to accept railroad cars for use as a homeless shelter on Emily Street. Adjoining property owners, by and through their legal representative, have raised some legal questions which need a brief discussion. - Basically they allege that the City: 1. Might not own the fee for Emily Street; or 2. Even if the City has an easement for public rights-of-way, use as a homeless shelter is contrary to basic legal restrictions applicable to easements. I requested Public Works to research our records in order to determine some basic facts. A preliminary report indicates that the adjoining property owners do in fact own the fee title to the portions of Haskin and Emily Street to the center line. This is typical where the City has an easement for public rights-of-way purposes. The more interesting issue is can the easement be used as a site for a homeless shelter. The general rule would hold that such a use is inconsistent with the purposes for which the easement was created and that it unreasonably interferes with adjoining property owners' rights. Of course, the City has tremendous powers to act in times of emergencies which would allow short term inconsistent uses. The longer the use, the less likely that a reviewing court would find that the use was emergency in nature. Accordingly, I concur with John's recommendation that this matter be continued for additional research given the issues that have been raised thus far. I will be free to answer any questions at the meeting. RP:ajr c: CAO