Neighbor moved fence right up against our house (lawyers, buying)

[DMenscha]

Originally Posted by Coletta

I have the subdivision map. Her fence and that side of my house are ON the property line.

End of Story.

If you have a Home Owners Association or CC&R's for the development, the issue of performing maintenance on "her" side of your home ought to be addressed. The same circumstance probably occurs on the other side of your property where the side of one home represents the boundary to your property.

Before she moved the fence, you would technically be trespassing on that sliver of land.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by Donn2390

I don't doubt your word, and I have see such homes on TV, in the bigger cities, Philly, Frisco, etc. I just know every place in So Calif where I have lived, If you build a home, or any structure, withn in the 6 foot zone, you will be required to rip it down, even if it's a million dollar mansion.
There was a case a couple years ago, I believe it was in Huntington Beach, where some new homes exceeded the maximum heigth by a foot and a half. they were made to modify the homes before they could be occupied

Happens here too... even when the plans are approved and built per plan... building department is very strict on height limitations...

Side setbacks are determined by zoning, when the structure was built and/or variances granted...

An acquaintance was ready for the State to condemn her property when they widen the freeway off ramp... instead they paid her for a strip of land and built a 12' high block wall 5' from her back door.... zoning calls for 20 and she had 23 to start with.

She wanted the State to buy her property and was told it was not in the budget...

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by Donn2390

I don't doubt your word, and I have see such homes on TV, in the bigger cities, Philly, Frisco, etc. I just know every place in So Calif where I have lived, If you build a home, or any structure, withn in the 6 foot zone, you will be required to rip it down, even if it's a million dollar mansion.

Depends upon the development and zoning, there are a lot of newer detached homes with zero lot line in the suburbs. The homes are not wall to wall with neighbors, but offset to one side of the lot with no setback.

Most of the ones built in the last 30 years or so in California have been part of PUDs (I know there are some zero lot lines in neighborhoods of Mission Viejo).

Since those are in PUDs the owners have a homeowners association setting rules for access to the side of their building.

[Clarks]

hoo boy,, there is a serious problem, The neighbor is a serious A&(%&$^ she cannot even paint that side of her house, the neighbor cut the fence low and ran it right under her eaves, technically her eaves are on the neighbors property.

I have discussed this with her, and given her what help I can right now. It is going to require some legal assistance. I do not think a neighbor can prevent you from necessary maintenance, at this time she cannot do anything.

I think the fire department would have an issue, a small fire on that side of the house would get caught between the wall and the fence, which would act like a chimney and take it right to the eaves.

This really seems like a spiteful act.

Here is a photo of the worlds most famous spite fence, Charles Crocker built it on three sides of Nicholas Yungs home on Nob Hill, Yung would not sell, the fence was 30 feet high and gave Yung, 2 hours of sunlight a day.
http://www.jim-collier.com/lifeofacity/downtown/images/nh-spitefence.jpg (broken link)

[DMenscha]

Originally Posted by Clarks

In California, the old Rancho lands were not put into the township and range system. They were surveyed under what is called metes and bounds. Creeks were often used as boundaries, and the creek here was the boundary of two ranchos. The boundary dates to the 1840's and under the law is sacrosanct. The adjacent property owners to us, lost land and we gained land.

While the original boundaries between Rancho's were indeed all mete's and bounds descriptions, the American (British) system was introduced afterwards and as property was divided over the years incorporated into the Section, Township and Range system. Until 1972 when the Subdivision Map Act was enacted, one could still subdivide property using a metes and bounds description or even a 1/4 of a 1/4 of a 1/4 section description. Thank goodness that is no longer the case, we occasionally run into property described this way and when someone wants a survey, the lines move substantially (100 feet or more).

Some of the original mining era townsites are problematic as well, where the original description can't be rectified by a modern survey. In those cases, the "lines of occupation" (where the fence lines are) are accepted as where ones property ends.

[the one]

every city is different. but i remember when i went to pull a permit for a cinder block wall they told me that if the two neighbors do not agree on putting a wall on the property line, then the person putting up the wall has to keep it 6 inches within their property. putting it on the line without your consent would be a violation of code.

it struck me as odd, but sometimes people dont want fences and for that reason those that do, must keep the fence on their "side".

but honestly 6 inches isnt that much. it might give you some room, but who knows, some cities say it has to be a whole foot.

good luck.

[Clarks]

A. The American system is not British, The British like the Spanish used metes and bounds.
B. The ranchos were not incorporated into the Township and range system. I am looking at a map on my wall right now, with 20 Ranchos on it, no townships, no sections on the rancho land. Since the conquest, the public land system has been used on non rancho land.

It may be that a particular landowner surveyed his property into sections, but the public land office did not.

[SIZE=-1]As part of the settlement of the Mexican War of 1846-1848, "ranchos," or private land holdings established during Spanish and Mexican rule, were honored by the U.S. Government under the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo with Mexico.

These ranchos, which were primarily along coastal areas of present-day California and in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys, covered 9 million acres, or 14,000 square miles. To delineate these private lands, the United States Deputy Surveyors were assigned to survey the rancho boundaries. During the 1850s more than 30 government survey parties were deployed.

While the rancho boundaries were being surveyed, plans were underway to begin subdividing federal land in the territory in accordance with the United States Public Land Survey System (USPLSS). The procedure for land surveys under the USPLSS was to establish a starting point, called an "initial point," which becomes the intersection of true east/west, and north/south direction lines.[/SIZE]

If I am in error, please show me where a Rancho was included in the PLSS system.

On the PLSS system I have seen lines shift substantially from 1860's surveys corrected to modern, moving homes onto someone elses land.

[Clarks]

It looks like her community was built as oil company housing during the war. If it was build by the oil company as a company town, they did not pay attention to lot lines and setbacks as they owned the whole thing. As they sold it off, they opened a can of worms and walked away from it. That is what appears to have happened.

[DMenscha]

I guess I meant to say that as the Rancho's were subdivided, they were incorporated into the PLSS by reference and overlay.

Certainly the Spanish, French and English contributed to the methods of surveying used in this country. I was thinking of the first surveyor I ever heard about. Some guy named G. Washington

[Clarks]

I have never seen any township set into a Rancho, certainly not in our part of the state. The Subdivisions of the Ranchos I have seen are a mess, parcels of all sizes and shapes, one of ours looks like a sharp angled Nike symbol.

The colonies were surveyed under the British system. metes and bounds, that is what George did.
Thomas Jefferson was the son of a surveyor and surveyed himself. He pretty much invented the township and range system, no surprise there, he was a bright lad.

I recently finished a book on the entire history of the Public Land Survey System, dry, but, I am probably the best equipped incompetent surveyor in California, I have all my father in laws stuff, including survey notes dating from the 1860's for the California deserts.