Blaine couple sues gov't over fence along border

Blaine couple sues gov't over fence along border

Shirley and Herbert Leu stand in front of their retaining wall, which border officials say must be moved back two feet, just south of the U.S.-Canadian border on their Blaine, Wash.

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Story Published: Apr 11, 2007 at 6:43 PM PDT

Story Updated: Apr 11, 2007 at 6:43 PM PDT

By Associated Press

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SEATTLE (AP) - A retired couple with a home near the U.S.-Canada border is suing to stop the federal government from removing a retaining wall that officials say is too close to the boundary.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, Herbert and Shirley-Ann Leu claim the U.S. International Boundary Commission has no legal standing to impose a buffer zone on private property near the border.

Absent the proper legal justification, the commission "may not simply adopt an informal policy authorizing themselves to regulate the use of private property," the lawsuit said.

The Leus are being represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, a property rights law firm that often takes up the cases of private parties in land disputes with the government.

U.S. Boundary Commissioner Dennis Schornack and other commission officials in the U.S. and Canada did not immediately return phone messages and e-mails seeking comment Tuesday afternoon.

The Leus say that earlier this year, officials told them a 4-foot-tall wall in their backyard was too close to the international border running along a road in Blaine, a town in northwestern Washington.

Their lawsuit claims that after an initial warning letter in early February, Schornack and his Canadian counterpart, Peter Sullivan, came to the Leus' home and hand-delivered another letter saying the couple needed to remove their wall by April 9.

"However, if the wall is not removed and/or relocated by this date, then the commission may itself cause the wall to be removed and the expenses ... invoiced to you," Schornack wrote in the letter, which was filed with the lawsuit.

The Leus' attorney in the case, Brian Hodges of Bellevue, said he couldn't find any specific U.S. laws giving the Boundary Commission the power to enforce a 10-foot boundary "vista" on private property.

Hodges said he has not heard a response from the commission about the lawsuit, but added that he hopes officials wouldn't attempt to remove the Leus' wall until the matter is resolved in court.

"We don't even think that this agency has the authority to condemn or compensate for private property, so they would be wise not to take any action until this is sorted out," Hodges said.

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