Blackstone HOA wins board approval to apply California vehicle code to private roads
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Summary
El Dorado County supervisors voted 5-0 to apply the California Vehicle Code to private streets in the Blackstone community, a change that would allow the CHP to enforce traffic laws on those roads if the homeowners association contracts for patrols.
El Dorado County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to apply the California Vehicle Code to private streets in the Blackstone planned community, a change the homeowners association says will let it request California Highway Patrol patrols on its private roads.
The petition, presented by John Hansen, legal counsel for the Blackstone Master Association, asks the board “to apply the vehicle code to the private streets in the Blackstone private plan development” so the HOA could request CHP patrols and citations for reckless or speeding drivers, Hansen said.
Board action rescinds the existing status under which most provisions of the Vehicle Code do not apply on private property and makes the code enforceable on the named private streets if the board’s resolution is later used by the HOA to contract with the CHP. The board approved the petition by voice vote; the clerk recorded the outcome as “Motion passes 5 0.”
Why it matters: Blackstone residents described repeated, dangerous driving within the development and said existing traffic-calming measures have not stopped crashes, property damage and at least one child being struck. Applying the Vehicle Code gives residents a path to formal law-enforcement intervention short of changing the ownership of the roads.
Residents’ accounts and county responses Chuck King, president of the Blackstone Homeowners Association, described multiple recent incidents: vehicles crashing into homes and gates, a head-on crash in a posted 17-mph zone and a child struck in a controlled intersection. “We have done everything we can to try to mitigate this,” King told the board, and said the HOA supports CHP patrols as an additional tool.
John Hansen framed the petition narrowly: applying the Vehicle Code is not an automatic contract with the CHP or a requirement to use patrols; instead, it is “one more tool in our toolbox” that lets the HOA decide later whether it can finance CHP overtime patrols on an as-needed basis.
County counsel and staff answered procedural questions: when the Vehicle Code is applied, CHP citations issued on private streets would be reviewable in court the same as public-road tickets. Dave Livingston, County Counsel, said the statute does not expressly address rescinding such an action but the board retains general authority to rescind past actions through the same noticed process.
What it will (and will not) do Applying the code makes most traffic rules enforceable on the named private roads (with some nuances for DUI and other provisions discussed in the hearing). It does not require the CHP to patrol the roads on any set schedule; the CHP typically provides overtime patrols at rates charged to the contracting HOA and on an as-available basis.
The HOA told the board it will seek resident buy-in before budgeting for patrol hours and expects to monitor costs closely.
Next steps The board’s resolution takes effect as recorded; any future agreement with the CHP would be between the HOA and CHP and would be subject to contract terms and HOA budgeting. The board hearing record shows the petition was introduced by the HOA, followed by public comment and county counsel clarification, and concluded with a 5-0 vote to apply the Vehicle Code to the specified private streets.
