County
Riverside County
California is a PL280 state. As such, laws on Indian Reservations are identical to laws within the state. Also, PL280 dictates that law enforcement on Indian Reservations is entrusted to the state. In the disputed area, Riverside County Sheriff provides law enforcement.
April 16, 2013
Recent federal legislation denies Riverside County the right to collect property taxes in the disputed area if deemed to be on the reservation. The new law is considered a clarification, rather than a new stipulation, and as such is applied retroactively. That means Riverside County never had authority to assess possessory interest taxes, ever. Therefore, Riverside County is obligated to refund all previous tax revenues collected in the disputed area if they maintain that the land is part of the CRIT reservation.
Click here for letter to Riverside County Tax Assessor
September 3, 2010
West Bank Homeowners Association v. Riverside County: WBHA files suit against Riverside County to force the sheriff to enforce California Penal Code 418 to protect personal property from CRIT self help actions. The lawsuit cites the Civil Rights Act of 1871.
Click Here for the Complaint as Filed
February 20, 2004
West Bank Homeowners Assn. initiates a letter writing campaign to the Riverside County Sheriff: WBHA takes the initiative to persuade the sheriff to respond to our requests for a clarification of policy and to our understanding of the law, which was prepared by our attorneys and sent to the sheriff in October.
Sample Letter Used for the Campaign
February 11, 2004
Re: Sheriff’s Policy – Eviction Attempts
February 5, 2004
Re: Response from County Council
January 26, 2004
November 18, 2003
October 28, 2003
October 28, 2003
The document below was sent as an attachment with cover letters to both Riverside County Counsel and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. The guideline spells out the obligation of the Sheriff in the event CRIT attempts evictions in the Disputed Area. The document also explains why CRIT cannot legally classify residents as trespassers.