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Commissioners raise caution about public‑access language for waterways in subdivision code
Summary
Commissioners pressed staff to keep a state‑law public‑access requirement confined to subdivision provisions to avoid creating a broader legal obligation that could be used to force access on other projects bordering rivers and streams.
Siskiyou County Planning Commission members pressed staff to confine proposed public‑access language to the subdivisions chapter of the draft code, saying the way the provision is placed could be read to require access on non‑subdivision projects.
"Could it not be argued by a lawyer to force the county to provide public access?" asked Commissioner Fowle (S1), expressing concern that the clause could create an unintended precedent. Planning staff (S2/S3) read the state statute into the record: "no local agency shall approve either a tentative or a final map of any proposed subdivision to be fronted upon a public waterway... which does not provide or have available reasonable public access by fee or easement from a public highway." Staff and commissioners agreed to pull the exact state code language and ensure the county's draft places the requirement specifically under subdivision rules rather than in broader chapters.
The discussion cited local waterways — including the Scott River, Shasta River and Salmon River — as examples where the commission has historically been cautious about creating access points that might require crossing private property or create safety and liability concerns. Staff said they will return with the cited code sections and recommend wording that preserves the state's public‑access requirement for navigable waterways without unintentionally expanding county obligations for other project types.
