County vacates Highland Valley road easement

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has approved the vacation of a portion of a Highland Valley Road easement between Highland Valley Court and state Route 67.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote returns control of the vacated portion, as well as maintenance responsibilities for that segment, to the owners of five parcels.

One of those property owners is Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, which requested the vacation and is paying for the process. The other property owner is the Curtis A. Holder and Doris K. Holder Trust, which did not object to the church’s request.

Highland Valley Road was originally dedicated to and accepted by the county in 1925. An additional easement dedication in 1938 provided a wider width.

The road was realigned in 1991 with construction completed in 1994, and the segment to be vacated is no longer needed for public use. The California Streets and Highway Code establishes procedures where an easement for a public road that has been superseded by relocation may be vacated.

There are no plans for future use of that area, and there are no plans to use the vacated area for trails or other non-motorized transportation use, the county reported.

The vacated road is not included in the county’s Bicycle Network plan, and the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation has determined that the easement would not be useful as a non-motorized transportation facility. No properties will be landlocked by vacating the easement.

All utility providers in the area were notified of the proposed vacation.

On Sept. 8 the Ramona Community Planning Group voted 14-0, with one member absent, to recommend the easement vacation. The easement is adjacent to a segment of a Highland Valley Road easement vacated in 2006.