FREMONT — On the outskirts of Fremont’s rolling hills, past eucalyptus trees and grassy cattle ranches, is an area with a long agrarian history that has been disrupted year after year by the momentum of modern industry.
Livestock ranchers, roughnecks and agriculture have had a storied past in the rural land surrounding what is now a long stretch of Interstate Highway 680. Deeper in the grassy hills, at the end of Morrison Canyon Road, a long metal gate now stretches from shoulder to shoulder, blocking 1,000 feet of public road in front of the ranch owned by Christopher George.
George, the president and CEO of local mortgage lender company CMG Financial, is locked in a contentious battle with Fremont officials over a gate the city says was illegally constructed.
His neighbors and other locals who walk, hike and ride bikes in the area have mixed opinions on how the high-profile public access debate is playing out — and about the George family‘s claim to it. George has not responded to multiple requests for comment from this news organization, and his lawyer, Clark Morrison, declined to comment for this story, as well.
A short drive away from the end of Morrison Canyon Road is property owned for generations by the Vargas family — for whom the Vargas Plateau Regional Park and nearby Vargas Road, which is now closed to cars, are named.
The Vargas, like several of their surrounding neighbors, had raised cattle and other livestock on hundreds of acres of land for over a century, since before Lorrie Vargas’ grandfather-in-law built the white and yellow house that family members have lived in for decades. The East Bay Regional Park District acquired part of their land in the late ‘90s to build the park, leaving about 125 acres of Vargas ranch property remaining.
Lorrie Vargas told this news organization that her family has long had a neighborly relationship with the Georges. While she hasn’t been following the controversy over the gate, she said she can only imagine one outcome — and it’s not favorable for her neighbors.
“If the city says it’s their road, it’s their road,” Vargas said. “The Georges are a little funny. They’re very nice people, they’re very generous people. But I’ve got the feeling they think the rules don’t apply to them.”
Her husband, Tony Vargas, said that he can understand why the Georges would want to block off that part of the road, since Alameda County officials had already surrendered responsibility of the upkeep to them. But he also had to concede that “if it’s the city’s property, then I think George is going to have a rough time.”“Being up here for a great deal of time, people that own the properties — I’m very reluctant to tell people what they can do with their properties,” he said. “This one here is a little more complicated, though.”
George is currently awaiting a hearing with Fremont officials in which he will appeal to save his gate. The city maintains that the gate is illegal because it blocks public access to the roadway that Fremont has controlled for more than 70 years. If the hearing ends in favor of the city, George stands to lose his gate and pay fines starting at $100 a day for every day the gate has been in place, though official ramifications would be sorted out later. The city has yet to schedule the hearing, but it is expected sometime soon.
Tony Vargas said that from his perspective, it breaks down to whether or not the city legally owns the right to the road.
“Personally, I understand where he’s coming from,” he said. “From my perspective, since he owns the whole area, there would be no reason for anybody else to go down there.”
Public access advocates have long argued against George’s claim to the road, despite the county’s actions.
Other locals have opinions on the dispute, as well.
Vedsar Kushwha, a Fremont resident, was driving along Morrison Canyon Road with his wife in their Tesla last week when they were surprised to encounter the gate. Their Tesla’s map still registered the 1,000 feet of road behind the gate as a public roadway.
But “it doesn’t affect me,” Kushwha said. “If it’s government property, they should make some decision whether they should allow the gate or not.”
His wife, Minanshi Singh, said they moved to Fremont three years ago for a quieter life away from the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley. They enjoy hiking through the nearby Vargas Plateau Regional Park often, but noting the cars cluttering the road’s shoulder, she wondered why the East Bay Regional Park District hadn’t made the parking lot bigger.
“If they get better parking here, it will be a benefit to us all,” Singh said.
Little did she know that in 2008, George and a neighbor, Jack W. Balch, sued the park district to shrink the original size of the parking lot in an attempt to reduce traffic through the area. This devolved into a years-long legal battle that ended in a settlement, an almost year-long closure of the park, and then the park’s subsequent reopening after the district agreed to make some improvements.
After learning about the complicated battle between the George family, the city and the county, she said that it would make sense for the Georges to want to construct the gate to keep cars and passers-by away from their property.
Further down the winding Morrison Canyon Road, another neighbor, 23-year-old Collette Cavanaugh, has lived on her family’s land her whole life. She said she’d never met the Georges and had not heard of the infamous gate.
She said she sympathizes with a rural family that wants to keep mounting traffic away from their house. But she also sympathizes with people who want to enjoy the nearby park.
“I don’t think that makes it the George family’s fault,” Cavanaugh said. “I wish that the county and the city communicated about that before they made a decision.”
Her 24-year-old boyfriend, Brandon Butsch, agreed that the situation is complicated. He also added that more public access to the park “would be better.” But, he said, the city and county should have figured out who really controls the road before the county decided to give control of part of it to the Georges.
“It sounds like land was given to him and now somebody is saying they want it back,” Butsch said. “That sounds like a slip-up on the county’s part. He should be compensated.”
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