Trespassing Laws for California

[sfpcservice]

I have a question about trespassing laws. There is a place in unincorporated Solano County where people have been shooting. I know this place is private property and I know the land owner lives in the Philippines per the recorders office. There are no signs posted and it is well away from the main access road and over 1/4 mile from any structure with a solid backstop. Are there any legal issues using this land if it's not posted?

[Quiet]

CA tresspassing laws generally require you to be first advised/warned not to tresspass on to the property. If you are caught on the property after you have been warned, then you can be charged.

CA tresspassing laws that may pertain to your situation... If the area is fenced off, you may run afoul PC 602(l)(4).

Penal Code 602
Except as provided in subdivision (u), subdivision (v), subdivision (x), and Section 602.8, every person who willfully commits a trespass by any of the following acts is guilty of a misdemeanor:
(i) Willfully opening, tearing down, or otherwise destroying any fence on the enclosed land of another, or opening any gate, bar, or fence of another and willfully leaving it open without the written permission of the owner, or maliciously tearing down, mutilating, or destroying any sign, signboard, or other notice forbidding shooting on private property.
(l) Entering any lands under cultivation or enclosed by fence, belonging to, or occupied by, another, or entering upon uncultivated or unenclosed lands where signs forbidding trespass are displayed at intervals not less than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails entering the lands without the written permission of the owner of the land, the owner's agent or of the person in lawful possession, and
(1) Refusing or failing to leave the lands immediately upon being requested by the owner of the land, the owner's agent or by the person in lawful possession to leave the lands, or
(2) Tearing down, mutilating, or destroying any sign, signboard, or notice forbidding trespass or hunting on the lands, or
(3) Removing, injuring, unlocking, or tampering with any lock on any gate on or leading into the lands, or
(4) Discharging any firearm.
(o) Refusing or failing to leave land, real property, or structures belonging to or lawfully occupied by another and not open to the general public, upon being requested to leave by (1) a peace officer at the request of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession, and upon being informed by the peace officer that he or she is acting at the request of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession, or (2) the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession. The owner, the
owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession shall make a separate request to the peace officer on each occasion when the peace officer's assistance in dealing with a trespass is requested. However, a single request for a peace officer's assistance may be made to cover a limited period of time not to exceed 30 days and identified by specific dates, during which there is a fire hazard or the owner, owner's agent or person in lawful possession is absent from the premises or property. In addition, a single request for a peace officer's assistance may be made for a period not to exceed six months when the premises or property is closed to the public and posted as being closed. However, this subdivision shall not be applicable to persons engaged in lawful labor union activities which are permitted to be carried out on the property by the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act, Part 3.5 (commencing with Section 1140) of Division 2 of the Labor Code, or by the National Labor Relations Act. For purposes of this section, land, real property, or structures owned or operated by any housing authority for tenants as
defined under Section 34213.5 of the Health and Safety Code constitutes property not open to the general public; however, this subdivision shall not apply to persons on the premises who are engaging in activities protected by the California or United States Constitution, or to persons who are on the premises at the request of a resident or management and who are not loitering or otherwise suspected of violating or actually violating any law or ordinance.
(p) Entering upon any lands declared closed to entry as provided in Section 4256 of the Public Resources Code, if the closed areas shall have been posted with notices declaring the closure, at intervals not greater than one mile along the exterior boundaries or along roads and trails passing through the lands.
(t)(1) Entering upon private property, including contiguous land, real property, or structures thereon belonging to the same owner, whether or not generally open to the public, after having been informed by a peace officer at the request of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession, and upon being informed by the peace officer that he or she is acting at the request of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession, that the property is not open to the particular person; or refusing or failing to leave the property upon being asked to leave the property in the manner provided in this subdivision.
(2) This subdivision shall apply only to a person who has been convicted of a crime committed upon the particular private property.
(3) A single notification or request to the person as set forth above shall be valid and enforceable under this subdivision unless and until rescinded by the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession of the property.
(4) Where the person has been convicted of a violent felony, as described in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5, this subdivision shall apply without time limitation. Where the person has been convicted of any other felony, this subdivision shall apply for no more than five years from the date of conviction. Where the person has been convicted of a misdemeanor, this subdivision shall apply for no more than two years from the date of conviction. Where the person was convicted for an infraction pursuant to Section 490.1, this subdivision shall apply for no more than one year from the date of conviction. This subdivision shall not apply to convictions for any
other infraction.

[resident-shooter]

Its good that a mad redneck owner can't shoot u without a warning in the middle of an open field which he owns a small portion of.

[L84CABO]

Am I missing something here? This is private property...and you know it's private property. But you're going to walk onto somebody else's land to shoot without their permission? You're concerned about maybe getting arrested but you have no concerns using someone else's property without their permission?

That just doesn't sound very cool to me...seems pretty disrepectful unless I've misunderstood something here.

How would you feel if a bunch of people showed up on your front lawn one day to...oh I don't know...have a big yard sale or something...because there isn't a "no tresspassing" sign posted?

[AragornElessar86]

Am I missing something here? This is private property...and you know it's private property. But you're going to walk onto somebody else's land to shoot without their permission? You're concerned about maybe getting arrested but you have no concerns using someone else's property without their permission?

That just doesn't sound very cool to me...seems pretty disrepectful unless I've misunderstood something here.

How would you feel if a bunch of people showed up on your front lawn one day to...oh I don't know...have a big yard sale or something...because there isn't a "no tresspassing" sign posted?

I think it's a different situation. Often this kind of land is owned by investors or the like, and it's not really an invasion of privacy or anything. I grew up in a non incorporated area and our property was bordered by over a square mile of empty land owned by an investment group planning on developing it. The owners lived on the east coast and all but one had never even seen the land.

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[Meplat]

Be very careful! One thing that seems to have been missed here it that if a place is properly posted (and three per mile is pretty easy to comply with) and you are armed while trespassing it can bump up to a felony! I got this info from a Co Sheriff that was explaining it to a landowner friend of mine, so take it as cop fud if you like. But I would check just to make sure. He said it was rarely charged as a felony against ordinary hunters and plinkers unless the land owner just wanted to be an influential asshat and pushed the DA fore it. Otherwise it was there for use against thieves, and vandals they just couldnt get the goods on any other way.

[Meplat]

I think it's a different situation. Often this kind of land is owned by investors or the like, and it's not really an invasion of privacy or anything. I grew up in a non incorporated area and our property was bordered by over a square mile of empty land owned by an investment group planning on developing it. The owners lived on the east coast and all but one had never even seen the land.

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[sfpcservice]

The place in question is not posted whatsoever and is an obvious local shooting spot. I haven't shot there since I learned it was private. Once I found out, I looked up the owner info at the county and that's found out they were absentee. That doesn't rule out a local lease holder, but this is basically land that is unusable for agriculture due to the rough terrain. If it were my land and I didn't want that activity, I would post it. This land hasn't been posted in 15 years.

[Pixs]

Try looking up implied easment in the CA R/E code

[Meplat]

The place in question is not posted whatsoever and is an obvious local shooting spot. I haven't shot there since I learned it was private. Once I found out, I looked up the owner info at the county and that's found out they were absentee. That doesn't rule out a local lease holder, but this is basically land that is unusable for agriculture due to the rough terrain. If it were my land and I didn't want that activity, I would post it. This land hasn't been posted in 15 years.

If you contact the owner and tell him what is going on he will get it posted somehow, if he is smart! Due to:

1. Liability

2. Adverse possession

[Meplat]

What does R/E stand for. I cant find it in the california Codes?

[F]Try looking up implied easment in the CA R/E code[/FONT]

[FXR]

What does R/E stand for. I cant find it in the california Codes?

Real Estate

[Pixs]

2. Adverse possession

You need to live on the land and pay the taxes regardless of whether they are paid by the owner. IIRC the time you need to adversly posess the land is five years.

[a1c]

You need to live on the land and pay the taxes regardless of whether they are paid by the owner. IIRC the time you need to adversly posess the land is five years.

No, you don't need to live on the land. Continuous cultivation, improvements, harvest, regularly used for timber - it all qualifies under CA law as "occupation" as long as it also was enclosed (e.g. a fence).

I have a lawyer friend hoping to file adverse possession for some or all of the lot next to his in a few more years. He included some of it in his fencing, landscaped it, and the owners haven't been seen in years. They will be in for a surprise.

[E Pluribus Unum]

I have a lawyer friend hoping to file adverse possession for some or all of the lot next to his in a few more years. He included some of it in his fencing, landscaped it, and the owners haven't been seen in years. They will be in for a surprise.

That is absolutely legal theft in my view.

So, if I own a piece of land in the hills for my retirement, I have to go there every few years to make sure some scumbag hasn't put a fence around it and landscaped it or I could lose it?

It just goes to show that just because attorneys take ethics courses, not all of them are ethical.