Ruling bars road to landlocked property Land trusts across the state are looking at a court decision in Nevada County and the precedents it could set for conservation easements elsewhere. In a tentative ruling, a county judge has decided in favor of the Nevada County Land Trust and landowners Bill and Anna Trabucco in a civil lawsuit brought by adjacent landowner Ian Garfinkel. But the ruling does not appear to decide between each party’s core issue: Garfinkle argued old roads crossed the Trabucco property, and as public byways, he wanted to use them to access his landlocked parcel. The Trabuccos argued a road on their land would violate their conservation easement, which preserves their ranch as agricultural land in perpetuity. Rather, the Aug. 22 decision by Superior Court Judge Robert Tamietti is that the roads portrayed on Garfinkle’s maps cannot be proven to be on the Trabucco property. Land easements such as the Trabuccos’ began about 30 years ago, said Darla Guenzler, executive director of the California Council of Land Trusts. The group represents 86 land trusts statewide. “These early cases are especially important. That’s why our organization is watching carefully so good rules are created,” Guenzler said....