Alpine council OKs next steps to research ownership of lane near Alpine Highway

Council members agreed on next steps after several residents urged the city to clarify whether an unimproved lane off Alpine Highway is owned by Alpine or private landowners and whether the corridor could be converted to a walking path.

Councilmember Andrew Young introduced the item, describing residents’ safety concerns and a volunteer-led effort to beautify the corridor. He said the city could cap its spending to begin a title-search process: "I would say 2,500, maybe 5,000 or 1000 just to get this going, a cap, not an endless amount of money where we could begin this search," he told the council. City staff and a surveyor on the dais explained that a title search could require multiple parcel searches and that a recorded survey could cost roughly $3,500–$3,800.

Residents and property owners told the council the lane has been used for decades and that utilities — including a sewer line — run through the corridor. The city’s counsel noted that even if the city has a prescriptive easement from longstanding use, a recorded easement or a court determination would be required to change permitted uses: "If the city has merely a prescriptive easement… you'd have to go to court" to obtain definitive rights, counsel said.

Councilmembers asked staff to get the county’s findings in writing and to return the matter as an action item once the county’s written position and a scope/cost estimate for title work are available. No final commitment to spend city funds was made at the meeting; council direction was limited to obtaining a written county opinion and preparing options (including a dollar cap) for a future vote.