Editor's note: This is the third and final article in a series about Taralyn Romero's property rights battle in Kittredge, Colorado. Read part 1 and part 2.
Dozens of angry residents gathered at a community church for a town hall-style meeting to ask when they would be able to swim and play in Bear Creek.
Taralyn Romero, who strung a rope across the property line to prevent access to her beloved stream, was the most hated person in the room.
“Public opposition has absolutely increased,” Romero said of the May 2022 meeting. “I could see there was a problem brewing.”
Two months later, the Jefferson County Commission sued Romero, claiming that the government, not Romero, owned the beaches north of Bear Creek.
In early 2021, Taralyn Romero moved to Kittridge, Colorado. Kittridge is an unincorporated community of just over 1,300 residents located approximately 30 minutes from Denver. Her house was on a steep hill, and a stream meandered through the land below. She said a property survey revealed that the stream and beach on either side were part of the backyard. (Logan Lee Anthony, Fox News Digital)
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“I was like any other home buyer, right? I was lucky enough to buy a property, raise a family, live in the area I wanted to live in, and here they were. They were trying to take it from me,” she said. Said.
Romero's battle with her neighbors and eventually the local government began in early 2021, when she bought a home in the small town of Kittridge, Colorado. Her backyard had a steep hill below which a stream ran around the edge of the property. There was a community park on the other side.
Local residents have been playing in the stream for decades, Romero said, and a land survey revealed that the land on both sides of the water is her property.
“I bought a house with a stream running through the backyard. That's how it was advertised,” she said. “As a general rule, I wasn't going to let them rip it out of my hands.”
As hostilities between the townspeople and Romero boiled over to direct conflict, Romero attempted to negotiate with the county to lease some of the land in question, or some other option that would allow area residents access to the stream. said he tried to find a solution for her while also respecting her rights.
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Instead, Jefferson County asked a judge to recognize the government's rights to the land.
The county initially argued that the stream itself was the boundary between the park, created in 1986, and adjacent land. The park included everything north of the creek, they argued, and Romero owned the land to the south.
“Bear Creek has meandered slowly south of its course over time and is located south of its location when the legal description was first created,” the complaint states.
Romero and her attorney argued that Bear Creek's current location was never intended to be property, and that the deed tied the boundary line to a map rather than a body of water.
Now we can just go to war and no longer have to pretend.
Regardless of the true property boundaries, the July 2022 lawsuit argued that the land should vest in the county under the doctrine of adverse possession. The county said public access should be allowed to continue because the community had enjoyed access to the land for more than 35 years with no complaints from the previous owners.
Romero said the lawsuit was, in some ways, “a huge relief.”
“Now we can just go to war. We don't have to pretend anymore,” she said. “I said, 'We're going to fight for this because owning property in this country is synonymous with the pursuit of happiness.'
And Romero had an army of TikTok followers on his side. Her handle, “The Wicked Witch of the West,” poked fun at how the residents of Kittridge viewed her. Her short videos on property disputes received millions of views.
Romero said people from all over the world sent emails to county commissioners and flooded the comments section of the local parks department's Facebook page.
Hundreds of people logged into the virtual town hall meeting to show their support for a woman who often had no allies.
“That public pressure absolutely influenced the government,” Romero said.
Taralyn Romero started a TikTok page to share videos about land battles and conflicts with people who believe streams are, or at least should be, public property. One video alone has over 4.5 million views. (Taralyn Romero/TikTok)
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Romero finally settled with the county last year, selling part of his backyard with a stream and beach for $250,000. The county installed fences and signs along the new property line.
A rope is stretched over the water, clearly separating families who can play freely from those who are passing through private land.
Jefferson County's attorney declined to comment on the lawsuit or its outcome.
Romero's experience changed her “whole perspective on our justice system and government,” she said.
“I never thought for a moment that this was all the truth on my side, and yet I would be at risk of losing everything,” she said, adding that she was shocked by the hypocrisy of many residents.
“When it comes to my property, they say, 'We should share it,'” Romero said. “And if you don't want to share, the government should force you to share through a statute of limitations easement.” …But when it comes to their property, if you cut their fence line If it goes over an inch, they'll freak out. ”
Families can now play on the beach and at Bear Creek next to Kittridge Park after Romero and Jefferson counties settled a lawsuit. (Logan Lee Anthony, Fox News Digital)
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After overcoming her own battles, Romero now uses TikTok to advocate for the property rights and freedoms of others. She recently posted several tearful videos about the New York raid that resulted in the euthanasia of her pet squirrel, calling it “outrageous” and showing how “the power of control is severely out of balance” in America. '' is a typical example of this.
But she still hasn't forgiven all her neighbors.
“If I could say anything to the people who lied and conspired to get justice for what I bought…I would say, 'Shame on you,'” Romero said. “'What you put out into the world comes back to you. And good luck, because it was hell.'
