Elbert County votes to vacate two road easements, reserving emergency access and bridal path easements

The Elbert County Board of County Commissioners voted to adopt resolutions fully vacating the tail ends of Palamino Trail and Pinto Trail while expressly reserving 20-foot bridal/path easements and directing the county attorney to add clarifying language about ownership.

Monty Henkins, Elbert County public works director, told the board the proposed vacation relates to the Gold Creek Commons subdivision and that county staff proposed three scenarios for the affected tail ends: full vacation, emergency-gated access for fire and other responders, or full public access. "If the road was vacated, that tail end of that road reverts back to the property owner," Henkins said, and he emphasized that the bridal/path easement already traverses the area and "will remain in place regardless of what scenario goes down here." He also noted a future traffic signal at Hind Street approved by CDOT could change local turning movements and access patterns.

Residents of the nearby Simmeron subdivision strongly objected to options that would increase through traffic. "Our primary concern is the amount of traffic that's going to end up on our roads," said resident Chris Copelan, who lives adjacent to one proposed vacation. Another longtime resident, Kathy Davis, called the proposed Gold Creek Commons development "ill‑conceived" and said flooding, water use and concentrated housing are among her concerns.

Representing the owner of Gold Creek Commons, David Bourne said the developer’s plan deliberately provides emergency-vehicle-only access at the Pinto and Palamino connections, "specifically to avoid cut-through traffic while still protecting life safety," and urged the county to let the town’s platting process address detailed design and turnaround issues.

Public safety officials also weighed in. Cara, speaking for the local fire district, said the fire code favors cul‑de‑sacs or turnarounds for long dead-end roads and that the district generally opposes vacating easements because doing so "could lead to fragmented routes and limited access for residents and emergency services." She recommended gated emergency access (locked with a department key) as a compromise that preserves life-safety access without permitting new public cut-through traffic.

County staff and the attorney clarified ownership implications. Under a statutory presumption cited at the meeting, if the board does not assign ownership in the resolution the vacated portion typically reverts to adjacent property owners to the center line; the county can, however, elect to explicitly assign ownership when adopting a vacation resolution. The board directed the county attorney to add explicit ownership language to the adopted versions.

After extended public comment and questions about snow removal, turnaround geometry, mail and maintenance burdens, the board voted to move the discussion to action and then adopted the two vacation resolutions. Both measures passed on 2–1 votes; the resolutions reserve the 20-foot bridal/path easements and direct legal language clarifying ownership be added before final signature.

The town of Elizabeth retains referral authority over the developer’s plat; Alex Kramer, the town’s planner, told commissioners the town’s review could reach the trustees as early as January or February. County staff said any gated emergency access would be plowed to the gate by county crews and that maintenance inside a new subdivision would typically fall to the developer or a metro district.

The board’s action does not change the town’s ongoing plat review; proponents said allowing the plat process to continue preserves technical review of turnarounds and infrastructure, while opponents urged the county to block easy access to force the developer to build a separate second access to County Road 13.

The commissioners recessed to the scheduled land-use hearings after the votes; implementation details (exact ownership assignment language, turnaround locations and maintenance agreements) were left to be finalized in the recorded resolutions and follow-up paperwork.