FAQ

While it may not be apparent, much of the open space you see in Walnut is actually on privately owned lots. Throughout the City, there are hundreds of privately owned lots that contain creeks, public trails, and/or protected open space within their property lines. At least 30 of those lots contain sections of either Lemon Creek or Snow Creek. The accompanying illustration provides one example (out of many). It shows an area along Meadow Pass Road and indicates the course of Lemon Creek with blue lines and private property lines with yellow lines. As you can see, it shows more than a dozen privately owned lots that contain sections of Lemon Creek.

Notably, a review of title information indicates that throughout the city very few of the lots containing creeks, public trails, and/or open space are covered by deed restrictions or easements to protect the natural resources contained within them. Brookside, on the other hand, will have a combination of stringent recorded restrictions and a trail easement to protect the creek, trail, and open space within private lots. These provisions will prohibit the homeowners from building, fencing, or even planting vegetation in the restricted portions of their lots, and the restrictions will give the City the power to enforce compliance.