Contra Costa County Public Works staff will discuss homeowner encroachments along the Iron Horse Corridor at the Alamo Municipal Advisory Committee (MAC) meeting on Jan. 8. Many homes along the corridor may be unintentionally encroaching on utility lines with dangerous effects, officials said.

The county-owned 19-mile corridor contains numerous utility lines, including fiber optic communication, electric, sewer and water lines, as well as a high pressure petroleum pipeline owned by Kinder Morgan. Property owners who encroach into the corridor with fencing, landscaping, structures or those illegally draining onto the corridor could damage the utilities and potentially cause life-threatening damage.

"The purpose of Tuesday's meeting is to give the Alamo community a brief overview of underground utilities and the process the county has gone though to update our maps," said Carrie Ricci, the county's Iron Horse Corridor manager. "We have quite a few (encroachers) in the Alamo area, and from what we've seen, more than in the rest of the San Ramon Valley."

Ricci will be on hand to discuss the county's continuing effort to address encroachments as well as enforcement efforts.

"Over the years we've dealt with encroachments as we became aware of them...and we became aware of a lot more as we updated our maps," Ricci said.

Encroachments to the Kinder Morgan pipeline will need to be removed and the county will look at infraction on a case-by-case basis if the encroachment is not within an easement licensed area such as a fiber optic line. Ricci said she and other county officials anticipate that residents may be surprised by possible encroachments.

"We want to work with property owners to address safety concerns," Ricci said.

County and Kinder Morgan representatives will be available at the MAC meeting to answer questions from Alamo community members. Adjacent property owners interested in what's behind their property in the Corridor can contact Ricci at 925-313-2235 or cricc@pw.cccounty.us.

The MAC meeting will be held at the Alamo Chamber of Commerce office (120-B Alamo Plaza, Alamo) at 6 p.m.

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