YOU HAVE BEEN MORE THAN PATIENT...
As many of you know we have made numerous efforts to reach out to the Simmons and Oullettes and ask that they remove the fencing across Doris Davis Trail. Unfortunately the response has been more fortification of the fencing and unfriendly communication with various residents of the Classic Ridge community. After nearly four months of attempting to restore trail access, the time has come to ask a court for relief.
NEXT STEPS...
The next step is to file a quiet title action in Tillamook County Court seeking a declaration that the public has a right to continue using the trail. According to the Oregon Supreme Court, if the public openly uses a trail for more than 10 years, without permission of the owners, then the public can acquire a prescriptive easement across private land. The trail has been used for well over 40 years by hundreds if not thousands of people, well before the present owners acquired the land. For more information check out the recent article posted in the Lighthouse Herald. The goal of the action is to ensure the public has access to the trail they have utilized for over four decades.
HOW YOU CAN HELP...
We are hoping to raise $15,000 to support the legal effort, which is being initiated by a long-time trail user to secure the right for all of us to continue to use the trail. We have over 110 supporters of the Trail Access Campaign and growing. That means if each of us give at least $150 we will have the funds needed to support the first phase of the litigation. Idealist Consulting has already contributed $1,000 to the cause and a number of members have given an additional $1,000 thus far. It is now up to the rest of us! PLEASE DONATE HERE. Any funds not used for the litigation will be applied to our other efforts to improve beach access from our neighborhood or donated to Trailkeepers of Oregon’s work on the coast.
FINALLY…
We would like to thank the following people for providing statements regarding their use of the trail. Having this information about your long standing history of trail use is critical to ensuring our effort to restore access. Thank you!
Julie Amici
Nigel Arkell
Rhonda and Rory Barton
Matt Chapman
Jane Comerford
Philip Cottle
William Greenfield
Sue Griffith
Dennis Harper
Alice Powell
Connie Soper
Rick Stiggins
Joan Strouse
Robert McLaurin/Susan Studd
Laurie (Almand) Murphy
Beth-Ann Wesley
Julie Denise Yanko
For those interested in submitting your statement please reach out to us directly at: trailaccess@yahoo.com.
AND DON'T FORGET...
This trail extends not only to your usage but your friends and family. Reach out to them and ask them to join our cause. If they use the trail or would likely to support the safety of the community please tell them to donate to support the effort to restore the Doris Davis Trail!
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