Submitted by the East County Community Action Coalition

     LAKESIDE — Several weeks ago, a 70-year-old property owner who lives along the proposed route for the Sunrise Powerlink, was given an ultimatum from San Diego Gas & Electric. Allow them to come onto his property to conduct surveys, or face arrest and fines.
     “They gave me a business card that said they were Sempra “special agents”, and told me that I was in violation of the law”, said the senior citizen, who has requested to keep his identity private. “I had no choice to let them on my property.”
     This man is just one among many who claim to have been subject to aggressive tactics by SDG&E to gain access to properties and rush eminent domain procedures, according to Laura Cyphert, a founder of the East County Community Action Coalition (ECCAC).
     Cyphert, along with other coalition members, is worried that SDG&E is taking advantage of landowners, especially those who lack the funds to consult with an attorney, and as a result property owners may be signing away their legal rights without realizing it.
     An additional concern is that SDG&E is rushing eminent domain procedures when the Sunrise Powerlink has not even received final approval from the U.S. Forest Service, and is still the subject of various legal appeals and lawsuits.
     An estimated 3,000 property owners are directly impacted by proposed powerlink towers that would cross their property. There are many more that could lose the use of their property due to new easements and access roads. In addition, some business owners along Alpine Boulevard are concerned about significant business income losses due to the closure of one lane of Alpine Boulevard, off and on, during the estimated 18-month construction period.
     In response to this what the coalition sees as a critical community need, the East County Community Action Coalition, in partnership with the Protect Our Communities Foundation and Backcountry Against Dumps, is sponsoring a free legal workshop to be held in June to educate property owners impacted by the planned route of the Sunrise Powerlink. The workshop will give impacted property owners a chance to learn their property rights and to ask questions of attorneys who are well versed in these issues.
     The workshop will be held on Thursday, June 11, at 6-8 p.m., at the Alpine Community Center, 1830 Alpine Blvd. Impacted property owners can register for the workshop by contacting info@eastcountyaction.org.

Free legal workshop
     East County Community Action Coalition (ECCAC), working in partnership with The Protect Our Communities Foundation, and Backcountry Against Dumps, is organizing a free property rights legal workshop for those directly impacted by the Sunrise Powerlink.
     The workshop will give impacted property owners a chance to meet with an attorney and find out answers to common questions, such as: Can I refuse to allow SDG&E surveyors on my property? Are they required to give me advance notice of their visits? How will they determine the value of my property, which they seek to take by eminent domain? Is the price negotiable? What if the lines make my parcels un-usable? Will my business on Alpine Boulevard be compensated for lost revenue?
     To register for the workshop, please contact ECCAC via e-mail at info@eastcountyaction.org or call 390-8119. For more information check online at www.EastCountyAction.org.