The entry road to Godfrey’s Pond is now open to two lanes as of this past weekend, after a temporary injunction was issued by a Genesee County Judge.
According to a source, a hearing will be held in the matter of ownership/use of the exit lane at Godfrey’s Pond on July 30th in County Court.
On July 4, 2021, after negotiations broke down between a landowner and the Board of Directors at Godfrey’s Pond over a strip of land that contains half of the main entrance/exit roadway, the landowner blocked all access to the exit lane at the private conservation club by placing cut down trees and stumps in the roadway. The road has been down to one lane since.
Deputy Jenna Ferrando responded to the entry/exit road on Griswold road in Stafford on July 4th after calls to the Genesee County Dispatch center were received that the entry/exit road was down to one lane, and causing a public safety risk as a large amount of residents and visitors were at the club that weekend for the July 4th festivities.
According to the Call for Service report, the landowner inherited the property from her family and was upset with an ongoing issue of people from Godfrey’s Pond trespassing on her property, which is a vacant piece of land currently.
In the Call for Service Report, the landowner says she is planning to to expand the farm field and was concerned about liability. She felt as though she was not being taken seriously by the Board of Directors at Godfrey’s Pond. The landowner requested that the private not for profit conservation club pay her rent of $1,000 a month to access the driveway.
After the Board of Directors told the landowner that was too high, she offered to rent the strip of driveway to the group for $500 a month, but the board would not agree to the landowner’s terms. The Report then goes on to say that the landowner received a letter in the mail from an attorney representing Godfrey’s Pond offering to purchase the land for $7,000 and cover all legal expenses for a total cost of about $10,000. The landowner was not happy with this offer and she expressed that the land was not for sale. She then proceeded to block off the driveway that has been in use by the club for many years.
A source says the the club has no legal easement to the property and has been maintaining the access road for over 100 years.
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