Introduce and waive the reading of an ordinance which accepts all previous offers of dedication for public roads, emergency fire access/escape roads, and/or public utilities which have already been put to their intended uses. (Page 225)

Years ago, the County tacitly rejected certain offers of dedication for public easements (Offers).  Acceptance is recommended for those outstanding Offers which are presently used for public purposes. 

Subdivisions usually involve roads, utilities, secondary fire access and other appurtenant facilities.  The associated easements may be private (benefitting certain parcels only) or public (benefitting the public at large).  Public easements are usually preferred to promote orderly development.  Public easements may be unmaintained. Public easements may be created through an offer of dedication (Offers) per Government Code Section 7050.  These Offers usually present themselves on Tract and Parcel Maps.  Such Offers are irrevocable and may be accepted or rejected at the Board’s discretion.  If an Offer is accepted then the easement is promptly created.  If the Offer is rejected then the Offer remains valid.  It may be accepted later, particularly if its intended use is initiated within 25 years. Shasta County has consistently accepted Offers for County-maintained roads. Prior to 1970 or thereabouts, public easement Offers were not required for most non-County maintained facilities. After 1970, the County began to require public easement Offers for non-County maintained facilities. But the County responded to most of these Offers with the following phrase:  “…consents to but does not accept…” This phrase sounds affirmative but is a tacit rejection. Since 2001, the County has accepted public easement Offers. Maintenance has only been undertaken in conjunction with formation of a Permanent Road Division or other dedicated funding mechanism. For about thirty years, the County rejected most Offers for non-County facilities.  Most of these facilities have been in continuous service ever since.  The Offers generally show up on title reports and are treated as easements for planning purposes.  Some users may have appurtenant private easements over the same ground under various legal theories.  But public easements may not exist and certain public uses may be a trespass (police, fire, ambulance, postal, recreational, etc).  Public easements are typically required for further development.  The Board has accepted outstanding Offers in the past on a case by case basis.  The recommended ordinance would accept all previous Offers which meet both of the following criteria:  1) Offers which have not been revoked or formally abandoned by the Board; and 2) Offers which have been put to the intended use of the previous Offer. The Board may abandon a public easement at any time if it is not necessary for any existing or prospective public use. 

The Board may decline to approve the ordinance at this time.  The potential easements would remain inchoate.  The Offers would remain valid and could be accepted later.

County Counsel has approved the ordinance as to form. The recommendation has been reviewed by the County Administrative Office.

The Adopted 2016/17 Road Fund budget includes sufficient funds to administer County rights of way. There is no General Fund impact.