In CA, we have an easement along our county road but the county doesn't care for it. It started getting overgrown, drug dealers moved in and did business there, truck drivers started using as an unloading area which ended up gouging the hillside, causing erosion/movement on our fence. Neighbors would blast backwards out of their driveways across it, hit my fence. Dog owners would use it as a dog toilet to the point where the entire length of the outside of my fence was covered and the smell was overwhelming (and my county has strict animal waste laws ESPECIALLY in drainage areas pertaining to ground water). The drainage ditch in the easement got clogged so to not have my property flood, I had to go out there and clean it. I called the county to come clean it up. They said no. I have called just about anyone I can think of and no one will help. So I started planting plants to keep the hill in tact, maintained the ditch, took down the weeds, took care of the animal waste, called animal control on the dog owners, and blocked the shoulder with traffic cones to keep the drug dealers out (by the way the police won't come when called). Now I have neighbors mad at me that they can't use that piece of property (shoulder of the road which is essentially a road drainage with the downside of my hill that meets the ditch. With that level of neglect and impact of the easement, has the county abandoned it? What can I do in this situation to not get in trouble but avoid property damage/interference with peaceful use of property and safety?
Isn't a right of way by definition a right allowing one person to travel over the land of another? If the land was transferred in fee, wouldn't it just be public land and hence no right of way would be necessary for public use? Is the use of the term "right of way" just colloquial rather than legal here? Any clarification you could provide would be much appreciated!
