Homeowner and former Pathways Committee member tell panel Matadero Creek route was never a public path

Bridget Morgan, a former Pathways Committee member, and homeowner Cindy told the Pathways Committee on June 8 that a disputed route near Matadero Creek has been the subject of committee review for decades and was never an established public path.

Bridget Morgan said she served on the Pathways Committee from 2014 through 2022 and that committee members and town staff repeatedly reviewed the property and subdivision plans. “When the pool was put in with a permit and signed off … the fence and the gate below the pool was approved by the town,” Morgan said, arguing the parcel had long been under official review and that the committee had worked to find alternatives rather than impose access through private yards.

Homeowner Cindy presented title‑company maps, subdivision plans and other materials, telling the committee she had searched the record and could not find a clear map showing a continuous public pathway. “This is my property,” she said. Cindy described a code compliance interaction going back to about 2015 and said the complaint was not formally withdrawn; she argued that past committee work, offers she said she made (including an offer related to a deed) and negotiations by prior volunteers had already tested several alternatives.

Committee members asked clarifying questions and thanked the guests for bringing supporting documents. The chair said the committee will place the matter on a future Pathways Committee agenda so members can consider the historical minutes, staff records and the documents the homeowner offered. The committee agreed to handle follow‑up in a properly noticed meeting rather than resolving the dispute on the floor.

Why it matters: The exchange matters because it concerns whether a claimed easement or pathway should be formalized in the master path plan and whether a lingering code‑compliance complaint should be withdrawn or re‑examined. Residents and committee members said that institutional knowledge has been disrupted over staff turnover and that assembling the full record will be necessary before the committee takes any formal action.

What’s next: Committee members agreed to include Matadero Creek/Monteiro (Matadero) on the next Pathways Committee agenda (the committee discussed a June meeting date) and to have staff and volunteers collect historic minutes, maps and the homeowner’s documents before taking a recommendation to the city council if needed.