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Re: Then who actually owns and conttrols the use of the Niles Canyon RoW?
Author: Dr Zarkoff
Date: 07-02-2015 - 14:50
>So -- who actually owns the Niles Canyon RoW -- if Alameda County does not actually own that RoW?
As I understand the system (my experience is with WRM), the R/W is in the "right of way bank", but I'm not sure who the "owner" is, unless it's some governmental agency. Regardless of "ownership", the caretaker doesn't buy the property, although there might paperwork and administrative fees involved, but oversees its use, which has been overwhelmingly for pedestrian and bike trails nationwide. In PLA's case, the R/W custodian is Alameda County, and PLA had to get the County's blessing to use it for their tracks, and the Country required PLA to address the adjacent ranch and ranchette owners' concerns before allowing the NCRy to be built and operated.
>And who legally gets to decide whether or not a certificate of need is approved?
The STB, or by whatever name it goes by these days. Over the last several years, there has been a big hub-ub in Idaho/Montana by summer cabin owners over an RR filing on a rail to trails line (former NP -?-) and putting back the trackage to run trains, unit coal trains I think. Last I heard, the cabin owners, who built their cabins after the line had been torn up, "went to court" and lost.
As I understand the system (my experience is with WRM), the R/W is in the "right of way bank", but I'm not sure who the "owner" is, unless it's some governmental agency. Regardless of "ownership", the caretaker doesn't buy the property, although there might paperwork and administrative fees involved, but oversees its use, which has been overwhelmingly for pedestrian and bike trails nationwide. In PLA's case, the R/W custodian is Alameda County, and PLA had to get the County's blessing to use it for their tracks, and the Country required PLA to address the adjacent ranch and ranchette owners' concerns before allowing the NCRy to be built and operated.
>And who legally gets to decide whether or not a certificate of need is approved?
The STB, or by whatever name it goes by these days. Over the last several years, there has been a big hub-ub in Idaho/Montana by summer cabin owners over an RR filing on a rail to trails line (former NP -?-) and putting back the trackage to run trains, unit coal trains I think. Last I heard, the cabin owners, who built their cabins after the line had been torn up, "went to court" and lost.
