File photo
After months of attempts to negotiate with a property owner of the hillside next to Vasquez Canyon Road, county officials are moving forward with the condemnation process in hopes making repairs.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution Tuesday to condemn the privately owned hillside next to the 600-foot segment of Vasquez Canyon Road that buckled in a mudslide in November 2015.
Over the past 10 months, roadwork has been stalled because the hillside that contributed to the road’s demise is privately owned. The property owner is deceased, and the county’s attempts to reach next of kin, who live in San Diego and San Francisco, have been unsuccessful, said Edel Vizcarra, planning deputy to Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.
Public Works officials offered $31,580 to the next-of-kin property owners but never received a response, according to a staff report.
Following Tuesday’s decision, the county plans to pursue court approval to condemn the hillside so it can legally gain access to the property “for public road and highway purposes and temporary construction easements,” according to the report.
The court process is expected to be completed before the end of the year, Vizcarra said.
Road construction should cost $4 million, paid for by funds from the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program, according to the report.
While work has already begun on the road, the county will be able to remove mudslide material from the hillside, regrade the slope, and reconstruct the roadway after the court process is complete.
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26 Comments
Sweet!!!
‘Bout time!
John
I personally don’t like the sound of just how they plan on fixing this road . I read about eminent domain to through private property ? ??
They’re fighting for eminent domain because the property owner (who lives out of state) won’t grant them access to thoroughly assess the situation (they still don’t know exactly what caused it til they get access to the property) and to fix it. At this point getting eminent domain granted is the only way to start fixing it.
They’re not trying to get eminent domain to creat a diff route if that’s what you’re thinking.
Andrew Roche
Great!
Couldn’t have condemnation proceedings started well before this? Also, you’d think the owner’s heirs would be a little more sensitive to those who have been inconvenienced by this situation.
We NEED this road more than anyone ever realized at first. The traffic on Soledad and Sierra is unbearable due to the loss of the Vasquez thruway! Sounds like the powers that be have done all they could to rouse the owners, to no avail. Time to move forward!
Amen!
Is it still moving?
Yes
Priscilla Nicole Schaumann
Lisa!!!!
If they spray painted some graffiti on the dirt then they could label it as property rehab, do the work and put a lien on the property for the cost. Problem solved. But no, let’s “study” it for 10 months and bill the tax payers for thousands of hours of “work” and let them drive far out of their way burning extra fuel and time. Another case of our government serving our needs. I’d hate to see what they would do if a toilet got clogged.
we need this road back!!!
@Chinkie Paye, as I see it this is what eminent domain is for — the taking of private property for the public good when all alternatives have failed. It’s patently obvious that this road is needed, the landowner is deceased and presumably doesn’t need the hillside, the current owners don’t care enough to respond to an offer to purchase the land they are not using. The land’s also not developable in its current unstable condition and I don’t think it could be developed anyway, it’s unlikely there’s any water there. What is needed is for the land to be stabilized for the future so that it doesn’t slip and destroy the roadway again. That would cost even more taxpayer dollars to fix.
Tired of trucks removing debris from Vasquez and passing through Copperhill.
Incredible that this road disaster has not been fixed yet. The one shortcut between Saugus & Canyon Country, plus the City losses significant revenue from lack of issuance of filming permit on top of Vasquez Rock
Finally!! Having it closed is such a pain I head to Palmdale instead most of the time, minimal traffic that way!
I’ll do my happy dance when it’s open again!
What was the big beef with the property owner then? A freaking road is destroyed, fix it!
Thank god ! Can hardly wait !!
I live near there and it’s still moving folks, so let’s figure out why it’s moving!