River Trails Homeowners Association

RTHA did not post the signs. We are not "on anyone's side" but are trying to share the information we have been given.

Our Neighborhood Police Officer (NPO) recently informed us that he helped post those signs after consulting with the land owner. If you research deeper, Ken Newell is a part of Riverbend Industries and he has been our contact when we ask about future development of that property.

§ 30.05.  CRIMINAL TRESPASS.  (a)  A person commits an offense if he enters or remains on or in property, including an aircraft or other vehicle, of another without effective consent or he enters or remains in a building of another without effective consent and he:

(1)  had notice that the entry was forbidden;  or

(2)  received notice to depart but failed to do so.                           

      (b)  For purposes of this section:                                             

(1)  "Entry" means the intrusion of the entire body.                          

(2)  "Notice" means:                                                          

     A)  oral or written communication by the owner or 

     someone with apparent authority to act for the owner;

     B)  fencing or other enclosure obviously designed to      

     exclude intruders or to contain livestock;

     C)  a sign or signs posted on the property or at 

     the entrance to the building, reasonably likely to   

     come to the attention of intruders, indicating that  

     entry is forbidden;  

     D)  the placement of identifying purple paint 

     marks on trees or posts on the property, provided that  

     the marks are:

(i) vertical lines of not less than eight inches in  

       length and not less than one inch in width;

(ii) placed so that the bottom of the mark is not  

       less than three feet from the ground or more  

       than five feet from the ground;  and

(iii)  placed at locations that are readily visible 

       to any person approaching the property and no  

             more than:

       (a)  100 feet apart on forest land;or                                    

       (b)  1,000 feet apart on land other than forest land 

Does our Neighborhood Police Officer post any signs?  I sure could use a BE-WARE OF DOG sign on my fence.  I hope that it's free.   Racinglady it look like you knew about the NPO posting the signs before RTHA, maybe you or Ken Newell can tell me if it is free to get a sign posted.  Mr. Newell, why do you not come on this and say that you had the NPO post the no trespassing signs for you?  May be some one from RTHA can tell Mr. Newell what is going on with his no trespassing signs.  Most important thing let me know if our NPO post sign for free or if I need to go buy the sign and screws?  Mr. Newell, racinglady, or any one who knows, please let me know.

Alright guys, enough funnies. This has strayed from what seems to be the point of the thread.
HOA says they are neutral when it comes to the no trespassing signs. Perhaps some of our posters can comment, but it seems all this has been pushed by one San Joaquin resident. As I understood, they are part of C.O.P. Doesn't this fall under the heading of HOA? I grew up in a large city and this sounds like politics in action; the Mayor is neutral to the fringe laws his police force is rigorously enforcing.
Last year, my son was stopped in front of our own house by a gentleman that said he was part of C.O.P. who's patrol area was the open lands. If my son was to go over there, he would call the police and have him arrested. Nice thing to tell a kid just trying to enjoy nature. Maybe if everybody were more concerned about what goes on IN the neighborhood, there wouldn't have been graffiti/tagging on the walls across Trinity.

I also believe we should all heed the warning put out by TCB. I have heard from several area riders who are upset. I must agree that if my son gets cited for trespassing, I will be on the phone EVERYTIME I see a hiker, birdwatcher, parent walking... on the other side of the fence. What's fair is fair? From my conversations, many will be doing this. We would also expect the same cooperation from our  Police force that the Shah of San Joaquin gets. If I call, I expect them to come. Eventually, all these calls will result in the PD slowing down their response to our needs as a community. When something really happens, like vandals busting houselights, they may not bother to come out at all. But that has already happened.
RTHA, you say your indifferent, but look at what this is causing in your neighborhood, my neighborhood, OUR neighborhood. You have the power to end some of this. Some riders had commented on other posts to try and be more respectful,...

RTHA, Racinglady, TCB, Opengarage, what's your thoughts? You guys seem to be the most outspoken on the posts, I would also expect you also speak to others not posting if any sort of a compromise was ever reached.