Driveway dispute pits neighbor against neighbor
PORTLAND, Ore. - You could make a case for either side and it's a heated battle that will probably be settled in court.
Both sides say it's cut and dry: the land is theirs.
It's a fight between two Portland neighbors -over a driveway.
Graham Conroy has lived in his house on Northwest 24th Avenue since 1975.
Last Wednesday, his neighbor of six years cut large square holes in the middle of Conroy's driveway.
Conroy, 83, told KATU News: "I've had this driveway since I lived here, which is almost 35 years now. There was no warning. He never said anything. He never threatened anything."
Soon after the holes were cut, some men started building a six-foot cedar fence right down the middle of the driveway.
Contractor Mitch Davis wants no part of the dispute. He said he's just doing his job
"We have property lines and we have a neighbor who hired us to put up a fence," Davis told KATU News as men in his crew placed the posts in the holes.
Davis said Conroy's neighbor, Chris Wilkerson, hired them to begin the fence project.
In a phone interview, Wilkerson said "this whole thing is absurd.....right? But I don't know what else to do...right? Like, I need to do something... I need to do something about my property...right? I need to do something to assert my boundary."
But the question as to who the driveway really belonged to persisted. So KATU News went to the last man to survey it, Shaun Fidler, who works with a construction mapping team.
"This was originally probably just a space between the two house," Fidler said, "and they didn't know exactly where their property line was."
Fidler was hired by Wilkerson, who claims he owns at least part of Conroy's driveway.
Fidler's survey maps show exactly where the property lines should exist and it bisects the driveway right down the middle.
KATU News used surveyors measuring devices to double-check the measurements and found them to be accurate - the property line runs right down the driveway.
Neighbors have their own assessment of the fence and dispute.
"It is a spite fence," one neighbor quickly said. "There is no earthly good this is going to do anybody."
Wilkerson's soon-to-be ex-wife says she, too, was shocked when the fence started going up, but is not surprised at her husbands actions.
"There's a reason we're getting divorced," she said.
And there may be another problem for her estranged husband under Oregon law.
The state's "adverse possession" law states if property owners "have maintained actual continuous possession of the property for a period of ten years," they can claim ownership and take real possession of the disputed land.
As the day wore on, fence builder Mitch Davis sounded like he was beginning to have doubts about the project.
"We're half-way through a job and we have a signed contract, so we can't just walk away," Davis said.
But a short time later, that's exactly what they did, saying they did not want to be part of taking land from the man, Graham Conroy, who has been using it as a driveway since Gerald Ford was president.
Fence posts stuck in the square holes leaned at odd angles as Davis and his crew packed up and then left the area.
"It seems to be a very aggressive and small-minded move, actually," Conroy said, looking at the unfinished fence.
Chris Wilkerson may have to use the "adverse possession" law himself if he wants to keep part of his house, which he currently has listed for sale.
His own surveyor's map shows an addition on his home and part of his fence are actually on another neighbor's property.
Both sides say it's cut and dry: the land is theirs.
It's a fight between two Portland neighbors -over a driveway.
Graham Conroy has lived in his house on Northwest 24th Avenue since 1975.
Last Wednesday, his neighbor of six years cut large square holes in the middle of Conroy's driveway.
Conroy, 83, told KATU News: "I've had this driveway since I lived here, which is almost 35 years now. There was no warning. He never said anything. He never threatened anything."
Soon after the holes were cut, some men started building a six-foot cedar fence right down the middle of the driveway.
Contractor Mitch Davis wants no part of the dispute. He said he's just doing his job
"We have property lines and we have a neighbor who hired us to put up a fence," Davis told KATU News as men in his crew placed the posts in the holes.
Davis said Conroy's neighbor, Chris Wilkerson, hired them to begin the fence project.In a phone interview, Wilkerson said "this whole thing is absurd.....right? But I don't know what else to do...right? Like, I need to do something... I need to do something about my property...right? I need to do something to assert my boundary."
But the question as to who the driveway really belonged to persisted. So KATU News went to the last man to survey it, Shaun Fidler, who works with a construction mapping team.
"This was originally probably just a space between the two house," Fidler said, "and they didn't know exactly where their property line was."
Fidler was hired by Wilkerson, who claims he owns at least part of Conroy's driveway.
Fidler's survey maps show exactly where the property lines should exist and it bisects the driveway right down the middle.
KATU News used surveyors measuring devices to double-check the measurements and found them to be accurate - the property line runs right down the driveway.
Neighbors have their own assessment of the fence and dispute.
"It is a spite fence," one neighbor quickly said. "There is no earthly good this is going to do anybody."
Wilkerson's soon-to-be ex-wife says she, too, was shocked when the fence started going up, but is not surprised at her husbands actions.
"There's a reason we're getting divorced," she said.
And there may be another problem for her estranged husband under Oregon law.
The state's "adverse possession" law states if property owners "have maintained actual continuous possession of the property for a period of ten years," they can claim ownership and take real possession of the disputed land.
As the day wore on, fence builder Mitch Davis sounded like he was beginning to have doubts about the project.
"We're half-way through a job and we have a signed contract, so we can't just walk away," Davis said.
But a short time later, that's exactly what they did, saying they did not want to be part of taking land from the man, Graham Conroy, who has been using it as a driveway since Gerald Ford was president.
Fence posts stuck in the square holes leaned at odd angles as Davis and his crew packed up and then left the area.
"It seems to be a very aggressive and small-minded move, actually," Conroy said, looking at the unfinished fence.
Chris Wilkerson may have to use the "adverse possession" law himself if he wants to keep part of his house, which he currently has listed for sale.
His own surveyor's map shows an addition on his home and part of his fence are actually on another neighbor's property.