Sumner Hill Homeowners' Ass'n v. Rio Mesa Holdings, LLC

*1003 Opinion

For over two decades, homeowners at Sumner Hill, an isolated subdivision on bluffs overlooking the San Joaquin River, experienced the privacy of living in a remote, rural location within the confines of a security gate. They also enjoyed unrestricted access to the San Joaquin River on a dirt road within the subdivision known as Killkelly Road. Because Killkelly Road was inside the gated residential area, river access by that route was available to Sumner Hill homeowners but not the general public. The homeowners believed these amenities—a private, gated community and unrestricted river access—were part of what they purchased when they bought their lots in the subdivision. Eventually, however, the trajectory of future development reached that area and the homeowners’ status quo was challenged. A developer, Rio Mesa Holdings, LLC, purchased the surrounding land and announced plans for a large-scale suburban development that would include public access to the San Joaquin River directly through the Sumner Hill subdivision using Killkelly Road. The same party also installed a gate restricting the homeowners’ access to Killkelly Road. These events precipitated the present…