A bedeviling lawsuit filed against the city of Arcata a year and a half ago claiming that the city unlawfully constructed a roundabout on private property doesn’t seem to be much closer to completion than when it was filed. 

The suit, filed by Marc Delany and his son, AO Kirki Ben Tut Malik Silkiss, claims their property lost more than $500,000 in value because of land they say was taken by the project. Their property, 2212 Jacoby Creek Road, borders the new-ish roundabout on Old Arcata Road. When it was constructed, the city also added a sidewalk down to the roundabout, which necessitated expanding the road. Delany and Silkiss say that they lost parking space for 11 cars. The property houses multiple businesses, including their own: StreamGuys, an audio streaming-services business. 

Delany and Silkiss weren’t the first party to fire a salvo; Arcata sued them first. In Sept. 2024, a month before Delany and Silkiss filed, Arcata requested an injunction that would force Delany and Silkiss to let the city finish the roundabout. In July 2024, before work began on the property, Delany walked up to several construction workers and threatened them, according to court filings. Construction halted. 

A week later, Arcata received a letter from Silkiss’ attorney challenging the validity of the encroachment permit Arcata got from Humboldt County for the project. He claimed it was outside of the county’s right-of-way. (The city’s attorneys noted that the county maintained the storm drain, drain pipe, and ditch they worked on the whole time Silkiss owned the property.)

Work stopped on the project for more than two months while the city and Silkiss attempted to negotiate a deal. In September, the city’s attorneys thought they’d reached one: the city wouldn’t pave outside the county’s drainage area (except on one 280 square foot chunk south of the driveway), and Silkiss and Delany would let work resume. Then, a twist: “without explanation,” Silkiss’ lawyer, Chris Hamer, emailed the city telling them the deal was off, according to the filing.

The city was a little desperate, show the court filings. Arcata needed the injunction. If construction wasn’t finished by October, it would have to be “winterized” for inclement weather, which would cost $500,000. It would also have to pay the contractor additional fees to “remobilize,” and control traffic through the unfinished construction area. 

Humboldt County’s court granted the injunction, as well as a temporary restraining order that prohibited Silkiss and Delany from threatening any construction workers or city employees and from preventing them from finishing the project. It was completed in late 2024, but the Delanys’ lawsuit is still snaking through court. They claim that the city unlawfully utilized some of their property to expand the road, build a sidewalk, extend an electrical conduit, and store construction equipment while the project was ongoing. An update, filed in April, says that both the Delanys and the city would prefer to settle the suit before it goes to trial; however, Hamer had spinal fusion surgery earlier this month, and won’t be able to meet for mediation before late June or July.

The Delanys weren’t completely wrong. In Dec. 2024, Arcata admitted that some of the project — a bit of the extended Jacoby Creek Road — was built on the Delany’s property, but claimed that it had the right to through a prescriptive easement. The city’s attorneys denied the other claims. 

Delany opposed the project long before it even began. According to reporting done by the Mad River Union, he appealed to the Coastal Commission in 2022, questioning the validity of Arcata’s Coastal Development Permit that allowed it to alter the road. He lost. An account with his name once commented 18 times on a 2021 Outpost article about the project, opposing it and asserting that the project was a ruse that would allow Arcata to annex Bayside.

“That intersection is not in Arcata, and that land is used by the grange, and bike enthusiast for parking, overflow parking during events and any fucking anything Bayside wants,” he wrote. “Its NOT Arcata… So go fuck youself.”

Arcata City Manager Merritt Perry told the Outpost that the roundabout was built to establish a clear transition from the city into unincorporated county land, and provide a safer intersection.

“I think it’s a great project,” Perry said. “I think it’s a net benefit to the surrounding property owners. The project was a success in many ways, and it would be nice to be able to put the complaint from this adjacent property owner to rest, and to move on from this project that has provided a lot of benefit to the community.”

Hamer, still recovering from surgery, wasn’t available for comment. Silkiss and Delany didn’t respond to a request for comment.