County Files Quiet the Title Action against Gibson Ranch

Dale Gibson and his family run a model ranch on Wentworth St in Sunland/Shadow Hills. It is a remarkable story of taking a run down property and through a lot of hard work turning it into a state-of the-art stables ("Stable Business Plans", Feb 12, 2006 SFV Business Journal).

Dale hosts many community events for Equestrian Trails as well as the annual Foothill Trails Neighborhood Council "Day of the Horse" through which local, state and federal representatives honor local equestrians and the community.

Dale's ranch is being raked over the coals for a minor property line dispute over a few feet of undeveloped land by the Los Angeles County which he offered a sensible solution. If he'd made a mistake using the previous property markings from 30 years ago, then he'd move his fence 15 feet. The County on the other hand is threatening him with the punitive amount of $181,000 in damages.

This is a very surprising action by Board of Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich office, since historically his office has had the foresight to nurture economic development in his district and not penalize it. Possibly his office should focus on the illegal mining operation a half a mile down Wentworth toward Glenoaks that kept the neighborhood awake nights, the illegal dumping in the quarries including low grade radioactive waste, or the contaminated water table along Glenoaks and Sheldon.

This reminds me of the story I wrote for the Boston Herald and Associated Press some years ago where a young waitress who filed the simplest of tax forms had a 10 cent error and was hit with $54 dollars in penalties and interest.

Steve Ford
editor@vhoa.org
The Hoofbeat