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Homeowners Agree To Allow Access to El Prieto Road

TUESDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2006

The El Prieto Fire Road which links the Meadows area of Altadena and other trails in the Angeles National Forest has been the source of dispute between some Altadena homeowners and persistent hikers.

Finally, homeowners John and Melody Mitchell, Jerome and Verna Cooper, and Wayne and Mary Traylor who were against the public access to the road have finally agreed to stop harassing hikers late last week. "They were getting in front of people, yelling at people, taking photographs of people, calling the sheriffs," prosecutor Paul Ayers explained. Raymond Backes, one of those hikers who were unduly confronted by the homeowners, asserts that all are legally entitled to use the El Prieto Fire Road.

But since the homeowners have violated a 2004 ruling that allows hikers access to the road, they are facing contempt of court hearing which they have appealed. The homeowners, moreover, have to follow certain conditions like prohibition from speaking with those related in the trail easement, putting of barriers on the trail, among others. In return, the homeowners asked trail users to pick up after their dogs and bring their trash with them. "People should recognize they have a responsibility to minimize their impact as trail users," Ayers said.

Read more about this news story at www.pasadenastarnews.com.

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