FREMONT — On the outskirts of Fremont’s rolling hills, past eucalyptus trees and grassy cattle ranches, is an area with a long agrarian history that has been disrupted year after year by the momentum of modern industry.
Livestock ranchers, roughnecks and agriculture have had a storied past in the rural land surrounding what is now a long stretch of Interstate Highway 680. Deeper in the grassy hills, at the end of Morrison Canyon Road, a long metal gate now stretches from shoulder to shoulder, blocking 1,000 feet of public road in front of the ranch owned by Christopher George.
George, the president and CEO of local mortgage lender company CMG Financial, is locked in a contentious battle with Fremont officials over a gate the city says was illegally constructed.
His neighbors and other locals who walk, hike and ride bikes in the area have mixed opinions on how the high-profile public access debate is playing out — and about the George family‘s claim to it. George has not responded to multiple requests for comment from this news organization, and his lawyer, Clark Morrison, declined to comment for this story, as well…