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Board upholds planning commission: partial abandonment of access easement approved in Sweet Clover appeal
Summary
After a contested hearing, the commissioners denied an appeal and affirmed the Planning Commission’s partial approval allowing a reduced utility easement but retaining a 20-foot road access easement to preserve potential legal access for neighboring parcels.
The Board of County Commissioners on June 10 denied an appeal filed by the applicants (Louise and Nikolai Travis) seeking full abandonment of two 40‑foot public access easements at 15870 Caswell Lane (WAB24‑0008). The planning commission had earlier approved a partial abandonment but retained 20 feet of the northern access easement; the BCC affirmed that partial approval by a unanimous vote.
Planning staff said the retained northern easement was necessary because two parcels to the east (identified in hearing materials) currently rely on informal, unpermitted access across Forest Service land; those parcels have no legal road access via Caswell Lane unless the Forest Service or county were to legalize an alternative route.
The Travis appellants argued that legalization of the existing route across the Forest Service property (Rose Rock Lane) could be achieved through Forest Service permits or a county application under the Forest Roads and Trails Act (FERDA) and that retention of the county easement was unnecessary and harmful to the adjacent houses and landscaping. Neighbors who use Rose Rock Lane said the Forest Service has acknowledged the lane’s historical use and offered pathways to formalize access; they supported the planning commission’s partial‑abandonment decision to preserve the county easement as a permanent legal fallback.
The board’s motion to deny the appeal and affirm the planning commission’s decision was made by Commissioner Naomi Andrea and carried unanimously. Commissioners cited the requirement to make a finding of no detriment under county code and the need to preserve potential permanent legal access while the Forest Service or property owners pursue any permit route.
The decision leaves the 20‑foot northern access easement in place; the applicants may return in future if circumstances change (for example, if a legal Forest Service access is established).
