RPV CITY REMAP the LANDSLIDE and Give Property Rights back to land owners in Portuguese Bend Land Slide community

Portuguese Bend Homeowners have been required by the city of Rancho Palos Verdes and Los Angeles Tax Assessors to live on lots defined by two conflicting maps and both maps are not accurate.   This has effectively blurred all property rights on many adjoining lots resulting in land wars. and endless court battles with no solution.  The active landslide already burdens the owners but the use of two maps are property owners nightmare.

These two conflicting map systems represent two legitimate concepts for the same one parcel location. But these with the same propertys are hundreds of feet away from each other depending on which map you use.  The landslide the homes moved and are still slowly moving from the 1947 locations and no new maps have ever been created. This huge distance of lot disparity is the creates undue strife and conflict within our neighborhood, and worse, as property values have risen making developers see a profitable landgrab loophole.

Homeowners live day to day by on the map that is logical and most closely represents the concept of "Metes and Bounds" as it the map that is the most rooted in our reality, it is not correct either as landslide land has stretched, and new embankments grow.  Unfortunately, the conflicting "GIS/GPS" map from the county computer is sometimes brought into play when there is an advantage to be had. The conflict that erupts, with wild accusations, attempts of land or home-grabbing, major land disputes, breakdown of civil rights, and many other issues surrounding protection, safety, and city services.

EXAMPLE OF TWO MAP ABUSE
The is an example of how people use the two maps: a realtor sells a vacant lot based on the Metes and Bounds lot location  standard, but afterwards the new owner decides to check the tax accessors website and the GIS location shown on the Latitude and Longitude fixed points on earth map. Hundreds of feet away from what they bought.  At this moment the new owner sees an advantage to the old location maybe a house and try to pursue the lot shape, size, and location as the neighborhood was in the pre-slide days. 

With the city seemingly is unwilling to decide between one map or the other and often uses both.  This leaves the Homeowners caught in the middle producing a ton of anxiety and loss of money for the Community families. The city considers the homes illegal and provides method to move the homes back to their original legal positions, and to date, the" Metes and Bounds" property line system has not been embraced by the RPV city leaders but yet they are forced to stay on them.  To add additional turmoil, even the act of permits for home upgrades is upset.  For example, a permit would have to pulled by a neighbor to fix a fireplace for another neighbor two homes away.  "Hey Bob, pull me a permit for a new heater" 

LOSS OF PROPERTY RIGHTS
Forcing us to live on two maps, the confusion causes Portuguese Bend Community owners to lose basic property rights. This also results in lackluster or no Sheriff protection, strange permit nightmares, and vacant lots with no brush clearance enforcement. There have even been recent reports squatters moving in on land that is not defined in either map.

BRUSH CLEARANCE
Brush clearance in the High fire zone not happening because people refuse to clear their "Metes and Bounds" vacant lots because they want to consider the GIS locations for their own personal greedy purposes. The county and the fire department no longer inspect or give citations, in some of these disputed areas, they used to disk and fine, now being in a high fire hazard and with no brush clearance the community is worried about being burned out. This is happening because there are two maps.  

The weeds will keep growing and the fire will burn regardless of the map dispute or the landslide activity.

Other examples of issues surrounding using conflicting maps:

Code enforcement is broken. If a "Metes and Bounds" homeowner puts it a pool, a person living in a home a block away gets a stop work order, because there are two maps.

House arrest is broken.  If you have to be under home arrest you want to be perfectly legal, you may have to stay in another person's home, because there are two maps, and the GIS numbers are not over your home.

Liability is broken. Who is liable if a map shows to locations and two owners? Do falls in my home go on my insurance or my neighbors?

Real-estate is broken. How is the city allowing the agents to sell a lot to a buyer that the city will say is illegal and belongs to another owner, then point to a new lot to say surprise that is what you bought.

Our deeds are broken.  If we are going to use GIS, then the deeds need rewritten.  Lots change from corners to unreachable, Current deeds match with Metes and Bounds because they reflect what a person can see, the markers and pipes and poles, roads have been maintained. The deeds match all that came with the homes and lots in the landslide.  The deeds do not match the GIS lines.

CIVIL COURT IS BROKEN
The city wants to force the public to sue each other for this loop in civil court, but civil court has been provided two legitimate valid maps and cannot rule. The civil court cannot redraw maps. The families are inheriting court cases.  Only the city can fix our maps.

REMAPPING
The city can redraw the maps and have done so on in the past. It was done in the Seaview area in an active landslide in 2014. They have been unwilling to take the next step.  It is "difficult" they state, so their solutions is push the burden they created and only they can fix on to the already burdened landslide homeowner.

The Community of the Portuguese Bend lives by two conflicting inaccurate maps, but we want ONE MAP based on the reality of where our homes and roads are at now, not where they were in the Pre-Slide days.

We want to protect our investments.

We do not want to sue each other over bad maps forced on us.

We want to protect our way of life. 

We want to be able to sell our land.

We want an end to the turmoil and strife.

We want our City Leaders to make a plan and execute it. 

We want equal representation and services for our taxation.

HELP US STAND ON OUR LAND even if it is Sliding.