Water, and resentment, still flow from the Owens Valley

Weeds and garbage choke the entrance to Mairs Market, a grocery store in Independence that was closed by owner Steve Tapia over a year ago. The business and building are now for sale.  (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Inyo County Supervisor Marty Fortney on land for sale near the Owens Valley town of Independence. The lot, which is of particular interest to the DWP, is owned by two brothers whose ancestors homesteaded on the land.  (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Water flows down the south fork of Oak Creek on land for sale near the Owens Valley town of Independence. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, facing a persistent water crisis, is negotiating to buy hundreds of acres of stream-side property in the valley.  (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A man walks past the Double L Bar as Lone Pine resident Scott Palamar, right, and real estate broker Jenifer Castaneda stand on the lot where the DWP tore down former businesses, leaving bare dirt. The locals have dubbed the lots “the missing teeth of Main Street.”  (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The Owens Valley town of Lone Pine, where residents have filed a petition with the Los Angeles City Council in protest of the activity they say has created a dearth of developable, affordable property in struggling valley communities.  (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Lone Pine residents Scott Palamar and Jenifer Castaneda on a lot where businesses used to stand. “They are creating a net loss of private land in Inyo County and destroying our towns in the process,” Castaneda said.  (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)