BEREA, Ohio — A Berea man worries a mix-up over property lines could cost his dream home the lake access he loves.
Tony Matusicky bought his Prospect Street home in 2003 and calls life overlooking Wallace Lake like living in a resort.
“Where do you find a piece of property like this in Cuyahoga County?” said Matusicky. “It’s probably not the nicest house in Berea, but it’s got the nicest backyard in Berea.”
Most of that backyard is a series of decks and steps leading down a steep, tree-covered hillside that leads to the lake.
Along the shore, he and his wife set up metal patio furniture not far from a kayak they use to paddle out and relax in the water.
But last fall he was shocked when he received a letter from the Metroparks informing him he was encroaching on park property.
“I’m thinking okay, they made a mistake,” said Matusicky. “This isn’t right.”
But surveyors confirmed it.
Matusicky’s land ends several yards before the lake.
The rest of it is part of Mill Stream Run Reservation.
Which includes several yards of the staircase from Matusicky’s decks down to the lake.
“I can’t believe I’m going to get emotional that somethings being taken away that we cherished about this house,” said Matusicky.
He said the steps are 35 years old and were there when he bought the house in 2003.
Matusicky said he never thought of having the land surveyed until he received that letter from the Metroparks.
“They called me up and said, ‘yeah Tony, we need permission to cross your property to get to our property,” said Matusicky. “I said don't you find that kind of ironic that you can't get to your property without going through my property?”
In a statement, a Metroparks spokesperson said inspections found Matusicky’s was one of approximately 270 neighboring properties that had encroached on Mill Stream Run’s 3,500 acres.
Matusicky has until August 15 to make arrangements to remove his property, although the spokesperson said the Metroparks "remains willing to work on a reasonable timeline for removal, provided progress continues toward resolving the encroachment.”
Without the steps, Matusicky said there’s no way he’ll be able to get down the steep hillside to the lake.
As he counts down the days until the deadline, Matusicky hopes some kind of compromise can be found that would keep him from losing access to the lake he loves.
“Is my dream house going to lose its feelings because I lose the steps?” said Matusicky. “Probably.”
