Elbert County commissioners approve vacating Palamino and Pinto trails, preserve bridal easements amid resident safety and traffic concerns

The Elbert County Board of County Commissioners voted to adopt resolutions to vacate the tail ends of Palamino Trail and Pinto Trail while preserving 20-foot bridal easements and directing the county attorney to add language clarifying ownership.

Monty Henkins, Elbert County public works director, told the board that the bridal path in question is part of adjacent lots and "if the road was vacated, that tail end of that road reverts back to the property owner." Henkins outlined three resident-proposed scenarios for the sections under review: full vacation, emergency gated access for fire apparatus only, or full public access. He said resident responses were split and noted a planned traffic signal at Hind Street that would create right-in/right-out restrictions at nearby intersections.

Residents who spoke during a lengthy public-comment period urged different outcomes. Chris Copelan, who lives at 2535 Palamino Trail, said, "Our primary concern in this is the amount of traffic that's going to be end up on our roads," and said he would prefer measures such as right-in/right-out limits to keep cut-through traffic down while preserving emergency access and reasonable turnarounds for residents.

David Bourne, representing the owner of Gold Creek Commons, described the developer's plan and said it "intentionally provides emergency vehicle access only at those locations, specifically to avoid cut through traffic while still protecting life safety." He said the proposal responds to neighbor concerns and that the town of Elizabeth and the fire district support emergency-only access subject to platting technical conditions.

Cara, a representative of the local fire district, cautioned against vacating easements, saying the fire district generally "doesn't like to approve" vacating them because doing so can fragment routes and limit emergency access. She and other speakers stressed that emergency-only gates typically remain locked and would be keyed for fire apparatus but would provide an ingress route when primary access was blocked.

Several residents raised questions about who would own and maintain any vacated right-of-way. The county attorney explained that, under current statute and given the draft resolutions before the board, ownership would presumptively revert to adjacent property owners to the center line unless the board explicitly assigns ownership otherwise.

After deliberations and a motion to move the discussion items to action, the board approved the resolutions to vacate both Palamino Trail and Pinto Trail while retaining the bridal easements and directing the county attorney to clarify ownership language. Each resolution passed on a 2–1 vote. The motions include instructions that the attorney refine the ownership wording before the final signed documents.

The board also asked staff to follow up with CDOT about the Hind Street signal location and to expand outreach to affected Simmeron residents about potential traffic changes and the implications of right-in/right-out restrictions. The meeting recessed to land-use hearings following the votes.