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LAW OFFICES OF PAUL J.DOHRING 1220 WASHINGTON STREET CALISTOGA,CALIFORNIA 94515 TELEPHONE (707)942-1298 August 25,2011 Supervisor Ken Vogel San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors 44 North San Joaquin Street 6th Floor Suite 627 Stockton,California 95202 Re:Code Violations of Fred and Carolyn Van Dyke Dear Supervisor Vogel: I represent John Galeazzi and Carolyn Galeazzi,the owners of real property at North Elliot Road and State Highway 88 in Lockeford,California where they grow walnuts.Their farmland surrounds a 39.7 acre parcel ofland owned by Fred Van Dyke and Carolyn Van Dyke. In 2006,the Van Dykes built their home in the flood plain adjacent to the Mokelumne River.The home is located approximately %of a mile from the nearest public streets (Church Street and Cherry Street.)Unfortunately,the Van Dykes continue to occupy their home illegally,and the Galeazzis now seek your assistance in addressing their safety concerns. ilLEGAL OCCUPATION OF HOME The Van Dykes'property is accessible by a 20-foot wide easement for ingress and egress. The easement traverses the walnut orchards now owned by the Gale9is.The 20 foot wide easement over the Galeazzi property was created by grant deed in 1986,a year before the Van Dyke acquisition of their property.At the time the Van Dykes acquired their property in 1987,it was used as a walnut orchard.From the time they purchased the property until they began constructing a residential dwelling in 2005,the property was only used for agricultural purposes. Historically,up until the Van Dykes began construction of their house,the 20 foot wide access easement therefore had been limited to occasional agriculture use,and not for daily residential access. On May 15,2008,the Van Dykes filed a civil action against the Galeazzis seeking to expand their agricultural easement to residential uses.Ultimately,in December 2009 the San Joaquin Superior Court rejected all of their claims,and the Van Dykes lost their lawsuit.