The Archuleta County Board of County Commissioner (BoCC) approved moving forward with a survey and appraisal of land for the county landfill located at 9179 County Road (CR) 500 at its July 2 meeting.
At the BoCC work session earlier in the day, Public Works Director Mike Torres explained the reasoning for the survey, stating that the county budgeted for the creation of Cell 4B of the landfill in its 2024 budget, which is located in the southwest corner of the landfill.
In this area, Torres explained, there is a fence line to the west that forms a triangular portion of the property where the cell will be located.
He stated that, prior to the county beginning construction on the cell, which would require moving the fence, he decided it would be useful to verify property lines for the property.
He explained that, during this review, county landfill engineer Short Elliott Hendrickson surfaced an “issue” with the property line.
Torres indicated that a 1984 survey of the landfill property shows that the property is 42.39 acres and comments in the legal description that this size is “more or less, to the best of [the surveyor’s] knowledge, statements like that.”
He added that this survey did not appear to have found the property markers for the property.
However, Torres stated, a 1997 survey, which was used in the Environmental Development Operations Plan (EDOP) for the landfill, shows the property at 49.29 acres.
He noted that the EDOP provides the state with information about the size and location of the landfill.
Torres indicated that the 1997 survey appeared to locate the property markers for the property.
He pointed out that there is a 6.9-acre discrepancy between the two surveys and that the EDOP was designed with the 6.9 acres.
“The original owners” still own the 6.9 acres because the deed lists the property size as 42.39 acres, Torres explained.
County Attorney Todd Weaver stated that the county examined the deed transferring the property to the county, which used the inaccurate 1984 survey.
“So, we’re stuck with it?” Commissioner Ronnie Maez asked.
Weaver stated that this is what the county owns.
Maez added that the intent of the seller was to sell the 42.39 acres.
Weaver replied that the seller likely intended to sell the full 49.29 acres, but that the survey was “done wrong” and the deed was formatted incorrectly.
He added that, if the fenceline had been located on the actual property line, the county could potentially claim the property through adverse possession but that, because it is located on the property line delineated by the 1984 survey, the county likely could not do this.
Maez suggested that not having this property would reduce the size and life of the landfill.
Torres stated that the smaller property would impact the design of Cell 4B and would impact the life of the landfill.
“My recommendation right now is we do an appraisal of the 6.9 acres and do another survey, just to verify,” Torres said.
Weaver explained that he and Torres spoke to the county surveyor and met with the current owners of the property to see if they would transfer the land to the county, which “didn’t go well.”
“And, so, quite frankly, we need a legal description of what was left out and then get … a third-party independent real estate appraisal on the value of that land and then we’ll need to offer that to the current landowners … and go from there,” Weaver said. “And, I hate to use this term, but this is essential for the landfill to have this property and, if push comes to shove, I believe eminent domain, which I never like to use. But, even the first steps of eminent domain you have to enter into good-faith negotiations before you move to that step anyway, so we need a survey and a legal description of the property regardless of what we do and also get an independent real estate appraisal on the value of that property so we … have a basis for trying to make an offer. And so, regardless of the direction you go, this is stuff we need to do, the county has to do.”
Weaver added that the land likely is not “worth very much” due to its small size and location near a landfill.
He also expressed hope that the county could reach an agreement with property owners to purchase the property.
Commissioner Warren Brown commented that the process “sounds reasonable” and that the county “needs to take these steps no matter what.”
Maez commented that the issue with the property would impact the life of the landfill and he feels the county should move forward with the survey.
Torres noted that the issue would be especially impactful given the size of Cell 4B and the amount of trash the county could store in it.
At the BoCC meeting later that day, the BoCC unanimously approved the request to move forward with a survey and appraisal of the landfill.
Prior to the vote, Maez asked Weaver if the original survey stating “more or less” would give the county any leverage on the issue.
Weaver responded that it would “possibly” give some leverage, but that the legal description in the deed controls what was transferred from the owner to the county and that this description is the incorrect size.
josh@pagosasun.com
