Commissioners turn down request for private road (complete article from source)
Source: Casper Star Tribune, by Rena Delbridge
June 25, 2007
DOUGLAS n The Converse County Commissioners denied a landowner’s petition for a private road, deciding that while the loss of her customary route was inconvenient, the costs for her to build a new access were within reason.
The commissioners issued their decision several weeks after a legal hearing at which Judy Thomas, owner of the 10,000-acre Powderhorn Ranch south of Douglas, asked the county to declare private a road accessing her ranch headquarters, but on land owned by Western Equity. Western Equity is a subsidiary of Wagonhound Land and Livestock, which owns nearly 100,000 acres in Converse County.
That would have condemned Western Equity’s land, giving it to Thomas in exchange for money based on a county appraisal.
According to transcripts, Thomas thought the 890-foot road off the county road accessing her headquarters and about 1,100 acres of land was part of the property when she purchased the Powderhorn in 1999. She later found that the road was actually part of a neighboring ranch, but she was unable to secure an easement. The neighbor sold the ranch in 2005, and the new owner sold to Wagonhound in 2006.
Testimony at the hearing indicated that Wagonhound and Thomas were unable to reach an agreement regarding the road. According to Thomas, Wagonhound representatives would grant an easement or sell her the land only if she traded some of her heavily timbered land, which she considered some of the most valuable on the ranch.
In their decision, the commissioners stated that the loss of the existing road into the Powderhorn would be inconvenient to Thomas, but that other alternatives existed. At the least, building a new road would cost around $150,000, the commissioners surmised. And although Thomas would suffer some inconvenience, it was not a matter of necessity that she be granted the existing road.
Land values also came into play. While the loss of an existing, primary route into the Powderhorn’s ranch headquarters is significantly inconvenient, that ranch is valued at $12 to $14 million, according to the decision. The owner may face costs of more than $150,000 to construct a new road and a bridge, but that fee is not an unreasonable burden in light of the total property value, the commissioners opined.
The commissioners grappled with two standards that they felt case law demanded be addressed, Willox said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
“The courts have said that to condemn property, it needs to rise to the level of necessity,” he said. That means whatever inconvenience the applicant is facing must be severe.
Also, courts have not addressed whether the hindrances on an applicant’s own land, such as the natural barriers Thomas claimed prohibited construction of a new route, give enough cause to request a private road, he said.
Willox noted that any action that condemns private property should be made only after great deliberation, in order to protect individual rights.
Thomas has 30 days to appeal the decision in district court. The commissioners granted a stay on their order for that period, allowing Thomas access on the road in question. If the order is appealed, the stay will remain valid pending a final decision.
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