Attention buyers, sellers, realtors, builders, title companies, HOAs and existing homeowners:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) owns and administers all 82 miles of Canyon Lake’s shoreline.
It’s illegal to build stairs, boat ramps, sundecks, patios, or floating docks along the shoreline of federal property.
Yet as Canyon Lake grows and property changes hands, new structures are popping up around the lake even as older ones are discovered.
“Understanding USACE guidelines is essential for successful property transactions around Canyon Lake, particularly for those dealing with ‘waterfront’ properties adjacent to USACE boundaries,” said USACE Canyon Lake Manager Brett Mazey.
“We want to make sure that they understand that we’re actually here to help. We’re here to help them with their septic permits and help them with building stuff. We hate seeing people make financial errors that will cost them dearly.”
Mazey will join Ranger Philip Anderson and SAXET Realty’s Cynthia Griffin to clarify USACE’s regulations and their significance in property transactions from 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, April 27, and from 1-2:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, at Tye Preston Memorial Library’s large meeting room, 16311 S. Access Rd., Canyon Lake.
The meetings for Canyon Lake-adjacent landowners and realtors will provide an overview of USACE guidelines related to the 948 (foot) flowage easement and fee property boundaries.
The half-hour presentations will be followed by Q&A sessions. Capacity is limited to 100 attendees per session. The meeting is open to the public. Registration is required. Visit tpml.org for more information.
Mazey said property owners need to understand the very real consequences of encroaching on USACE land.
“We’ve already had two projects that cost over $30,000 that the person had to pay to remove patios and steps and stuff like that off of Corps property,” he said.
Another homeowner added 100 yards of cart path so he could drive his golf cart down to the shoreline — causing over $ 500,000 in damage to trees and the environment. Costs will increase when the path is removed.
On Larson Drive, a developer who discovered the house he wanted to build wouldn’t fit on the lot he purchased, decided to cut down trees on Corps property and put the house on stilts.
He now faces $350,000 worth of damages.
“We actually have a current case where the realtor took pictures of Corps property and put it into the sale of the house, thinking it was the owner’s property,” Mazey said. “And then the title company did not do any research to check to see if that was valid. And so now you have a homeowner with $30,000 worth of damage to federal property having to go to the title insurance. … The previous owner had fenced in the Corps property and then built stairs, patios, and fire pits.
“It just so happened that guy’s yard was really only maybe 25 feet, and they took another 75 feet or 75 yards of Corps land and added to it. We got three houses all in a row that did the exact same thing. And the first person who did it said that they didn’t have a survey done, so they really didn’t know where their property line was. And then the other two properties followed suit.”
Are you actually going to enforce this though and collect fines, or look the other way when owners have friends in the right places?