Chuck McMinn is heading a task force to acquire rights of way for a hiking/biking trail the full length of the Napa Valley.
NVLSA refused to endorse the project for fear that eminent domain or other coercive measures would eventually be used against property owners not wishing to grant easements.
Mr. McMinn insists that is not his intention, and promises that coercion will never be used. However, Napa County has a long-standing reputation of using use permit conditions to extract concessions from property owners.
NVLSA fears that as the trail nears completion, and as pressure mounts to acquire the final few pieces of right of way, memories will fade, promises will be broken, and the last few property owners will eventually be forced to grant rights of way as one of the conditions for a permit to build something unrelated.
NVLSA recommends that property owners wishing to help establish the trail grant revocable license agreements, rather than permanent easements.