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Board delays Redwall Miner subdivision after resident raises century-old easement concerns
Summary
A Montrose County resident said a private irrigation and pipeline easement dating to 1921 crosses the proposed Redwall Miner subdivision lots; the board continued the plat to Nov. 20 to allow further survey and negotiation between the parties.
The Montrose County Board of County Commissioners voted Oct. 16 to continue consideration of the Redwall Miner subdivision after a resident said a private water-pipeline and irrigation easement crosses the proposed lots and is not clearly shown on the plat.
Matt Miller, a nearby landowner who said his family holds a long-time easement for a land-and-ditch pipeline that crosses the proposed parcels, asked the board to table the plat while he and the developer try to reach an agreement. Miller told the board he had recently retained an attorney and argued the plat did not comply with subdivision regulations that require existing easements and their widths to be shown on the title sheet. "The plat does not show the easement width for the land and ditch pipeline easement," Miller said, adding that failure to label the easement could leave future buyers unaware of private rights.
Planning staff and legal counsel acknowledged the concern and said the plat shows a 10-foot irrigation easement and a 15-foot utility easement recorded at reception number 734633. Planning staff said their interpretation in past cases has been that adjacent easements summing to 25 feet meet the 25-foot minimum requirement in the subdivision code. "There is a 10 foot irrigation easement that is not being dedicated per this plat...per reception number 734633, as well as a 15 foot utility easement," planning staff said. Staff and the board recommended obtaining a current survey showing the water line relative to the easement; staff estimated that verifying the survey and easement alignment could be done quickly and suggested returning at the next meeting if needed.
After discussion, a commissioner moved to continue the Redwall Miner Subdivision to the Nov. 20 board meeting to allow parties to resolve the survey and easement issues; the board approved the continuance.
What happens next: Planning staff will obtain or review a survey to verify whether the water line lies within the recorded easement and will work with the applicant and Miller to resolve the alignment or require a dedicated easement; the item was continued to Nov. 20.
