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Commissioners discuss County Road 25/184 alignment, question ownership of right-of-way parcels
Summary
Planning staff and commissioners discussed using a boundary-line adjustment or creating a county-owned tract to expand right-of-way for a road realignment; commissioners asked staff to verify whether the specific strips of land are county-owned easements or remain private or state-owned before proceeding.
Montezuma County commissioners and planning staff discussed how to document a small land transfer tied to the planned realignment of County Road 25 to County Road 184 and raised questions about whether the county actually owns the fee simple title for the ground under many of its roads.
Planning staff said the county will receive a couple of acres from the property owner to expand the road right-of-way for the planned realignment. Staff proposed using a boundary-line adjustment with a quitclaim deed embedded on the plat so the transfer and the right-of-way dedications are recorded together.
Several commissioners and staff cautioned that boundary-line adjustments are normally used when a parcel changes hands or creates a new legal parcel and that adjusting land the county does not own could be inappropriate. One commissioner noted, "Most of those county roads, we do not own that road. We have that right-of-way, but we don't own that ground," and asked staff to confirm ownership.
Staff and commissioners discussed an alternative: creating a small county-owned tract that explicitly encompasses the road easement, which would then be conveyed and recorded to establish county ownership. Staff also flagged that portions of the irregular parcel near County Road 184 might include Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) easements rather than county-owned land, and that any transfer should be handled as the county's legal staff advises.
What happens next
Commissioners directed staff to consult with county legal staff (and the owner) to determine the correct recording approach and to verify whether the county or CDOT holds fee title or just an easement for the affected strips of land. Planning staff said they will follow up and present the approach that preserves county interests and ensures proper recording.
Provenance
Discussion of the boundary-line adjustment and right-of-way ownership runs from the planning pre-meeting item at 00:14:20 (transcript block starting at 860.64) through follow-up comments beginning at 00:29:27 (transcript block starting at 1674.065).
