THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 22, 1996 TAG: 9608220365
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 83 lines
Many of the 50 homeowners along Shillelagh Road thought they were just trying to fix a problem of a flooding ditch.
For years they lived with the legacy of A.H. Lindsay, who a century ago floated fresh-cut cypress logs down the roadside ditch to the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River. The narrow ditch now is overwhelmed during heavy rain, and residents have found that the solution to this problem came at an unexpected price.
Homeowners face the possibility of losing parts of their yards to the ditch-widening project - one even faces the loss of his house - and have found out they don't own land they thought was theirs.
Now, most neighbors are happy the flooding will soon end, but some of them wonder, too late, if they should have left well enough alone.
Three years ago, residents offered to sacrifice strips of their land to widen the ditch, which flooded with every heavy rain. Confusion began when city officials discovered that Lindsay, the long-dead logger of Shillelagh Road, legally owned the narrow stretch of land abutting two miles of the ditch.
Up to that point, none of the local residents seemed to know for sure who really owned the land. Most thought it was part of their yards.
As a result, the city has paid Lindsay's estate for the land, not the residents. And if residents want control of excess property that the city doesn't need for the ditch project, they will likely have to seek court permission.
Outside of this legal mess, many residents also face the loss of some old trees. One homeowner is slated to lose his house.
The heir to the land may be Jonathan Lindsay of Chesapeake. His attorney, Page Garrett, said Jonathan Lindsay told him that he believes A.H. Lindsay is his great-great-great-grandfather. Garrett said Jonathan Lindsay is now putting together a family tree to help identify other heirs.
The city spent about $140,000 on the land, money that remains in an account set up pending proof of the Lindsay relationship.
As for the homeowners, those who have lived on their property for 15 years can claim squatters' rights, according to Chesapeake city attorney Ronald S. Hallman.
``The city has no position on that,'' Hallman said, ``but, personally, I think they have a good case.''
Regardless of the legal entanglements, many property owners are pleased to have the ditch project under way, city officials said.
Eddie Vincek, the owner of about four acres along the east side of the road for nearly 50 years, said he's looking forward to the day there are no floods.
``The city's got it squared away and, for me, it's resolved,'' he said.
The city plans to spend about $700,000 during the next year to widen the ditch from about 10 feet to about 30 feet. It will remain about 7 feet deep. Workers will also widen the shoulder between the road and the ditch.
Public Works Director John O'Connor said it took several years to get the project moving from the time property owners first told him about the flooding. Some property owners protested because they feared too many trees would be cut and their yards would be ruined, he said.
``There's absolutely a need,'' O'Connor said. ``It's probably been flooding forever, but this year they saw that it was necessary because the floods were worse than usual with Hurricane Bertha. I don't think anyone is opposed to it now.''
Gene Williams, however, said he would have preferred that they'd never started the project. His childhood home, still owned by his father, must be torn down to accommodate the wider ditch.
``He's lived there and has been paying taxes on it for years and now they tell him he never owned the land,'' Williams said.
The father, Harold Williams, has already begun building his new house farther back on his farm at a cost of $106,000. The city gave him $34,000 for the condemned house, and he will likely have to go to court to seek a higher fee, back taxes or possession of the land to offset building costs, Gene Williams said.
``That ditch,'' he said, ``better at least stop the flooding.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
STEVE EARLEY
The Virginian-Pilot
Chuck Cole, left, and Vince Reid of the Chesapeake Public Works
Department, work on the drainage ditch along Shillelagh Road. Some
residents now wonder if they should have left well enough alone.
WIDENING PROJECT
VP MAP by CNB