State Court of Appeals rules in favor of Santa Barbara County in East Mountain Drive lawsuit

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – The California Second District Court of Appeal ruled against private property owners that sued the County Road Commissioner for posting notices to remove road encroachments along East Mountain Drive in Montecito.

First District Supervisor Das Williams said, “This decision is vital to every County’s ability to protect the public with road widths adequate for safety, pedestrian paths, and legal safe parking."

In 2022, the Santa Barbara County Road Commissioner posted notices to property owners along East Mountain Drive to remove unpermitted road encroachments placed in the public right of way including boulders and at least one "No Parking" sign.

East Mountain Road is near Hot Springs trailhead, a popular hiking trail open to the public which has only a small number of parking spaces available.

In Spring of 2021, the County removed about 50 public parking spaces along Riven Rock Road near the trailhead over fire risk and emergency access issues which, in turn, increased the demand for parking along East Mountain Drive.

Residents in the area installed landscaping, boulders, and even a "No Parking" sign to discourage public parking.

These encroachments and the related parking problems were reported to the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department and the County issued notices about the removal of the obstructions.

Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors appropriated $100,000 for Hot Springs Trailhead access improvement studies and implementation in September of 2021.

An agenda letter supporting the expenditure detailed the impact of both removing parking on Riven Rock Road and the increase in visitors to the trailhead due to the pandemic.

The County's Transportation Division issued notices to properties to remove the road encroachments within 60 days under what was referred to as the "Montecito Right of Way Restoration", explaining the encroachments were installed without the required road encroachment permits.

Residents in the surrounding area filed a petition to prevent the removal of the encroachments until Santa Barbara County complied with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) which would require a review of the impact additional public parking could have on the area.

Santa Barbara County Superior Court issued a preliminary injunction in Anderson v. County of Santa Barbara prohibiting the removal of the encroachments "within 0.5 miles of the Hot Springs Canyon trailhead, pending trial of this action".

The County of Santa Barbara then filed an appeal that was granted with the following conclusions from the California Second District Court of Appeals:

• The County Superior Court erred because the record contained no substantial evidence that the homeowners would be "irreparably harmed by the removal of encroachments installed without permits in the public right of way of an existing road"
• "The County Road Commissioner is authorized by statute and local ordinance to remove any encroachment on a public right of way"
• "CEQA is not 'a limitation or restriction on the power or authority of any public agency in the enforcement or administration of any provision of law which it is specifically permitted or required to enforce"
• That the homeowners "will suffer no irreparable harm because 'a party suffers no grave or irreparable harm by being prohibited from violating the law'"

"We are thankful that the Court of Appeal recognized the legal authority of a California Road Commissioner to protect all the public who utilize the road right-of-ways within the County of Santa Barbara," said Santa Barbara County Public Works Director and County Road Commissioner Scott McGolpin.