Former director of Solano County UC Cooperative Extension, Larry Clement, is still sought after by the local press for his expertise on public policy issues. The Vacaville Reporter ran a story last week about so-called ghost maps -- very old, typically hand-drawn maps.
The Solano Board of Supervisors is planning to appeal a decision by the Solano County Superior Court that said the county must honor a map from 1909 that shows a 10-acre parcel in Suisun Valley. The land is owned by Ray Ferrari, who is using the map as a test case for other parcels he owns in the area, according to the story.
"'Ghost maps scare the heck out of me," Clement was quoted. "It has the potential to do some dastardly things as far as the General Plan is concerned."
Clement told reporter Danny Bernardini that, prior to 1929, maps were informal and often used trees and rocks as boundaries. The story said Clement suggested the only reason 10-acre parcels existed was because most families couldn't farm an area any bigger than that without a tractor.
"This is urbanization of farm lands. If they get away with it, more power to him," he said. "But I hope the board has the (guts) to stand up to this thing."