Commission postpones Sierra Place right‑of‑way abandonment after resident raises drainage and egress concerns

The Douglas County commission on June 4 continued consideration of petition DP26‑0035, a request to abandon an approximately 11,997‑square‑foot unimproved section of Sierra Place right‑of‑way, after nearby property owner Phil Hernandez said the area serves as a secondary egress and that repeated seasonal drainage events have washed out his access.

County engineer Jeremy Hutchins described the unimproved right‑of‑way and said staff recommends reserving a public‑utility easement if the board approves abandonment. Hutchins told the board there was no staff finding that the right‑of‑way is critical to county circulation and that previous, nearby sections of Sierra Place have been abandoned.

Hernandez told commissioners the low spot where water funnels down from neighboring terrain causes erosion that has washed out his road multiple times over 30 years and that the county's prior field visits acknowledged the drainage problem. "That drainage… has washed out my road approximately 5, 6 times in the 30 years I've lived there," Hernandez said, adding that the county's stormwater staff previously identified potential solutions involving culverts but that the proposed work could interact with the segment under consideration.

After discussion, commissioners agreed to continue the item to allow the petitioner to provide a drainage analysis and a proposed solution for how abandonments and future drainage would be managed. Several commissioners and the county attorney's staff noted that legal standards for "material injury" require evidence of actual injury, and suggested the applicant should document historic flooding and the feasibility of mitigation. The board did not vote to abandon the right‑of‑way at the meeting.