Old Coach Road easement issues resolved
A dispute over a stretch of Old Coach Road in Poway that threatened legal access to 49 properties — including several million-dollar homes — has been mostly resolved, with just minor details to work out.
The problem centered on part of the road, just north of the entrance to the ultraexclusive The Heritage housing development, that intruded on an 8-acre parcel owned by Jessica and Justin Owens. The Owenses bought the property in 2012, but didn’t know about the road glitch until they tried to sell a portion of their land the following year.
The couple then tried to deed that section of road to the city, but officials refused to accept it. Next, the Owenses turned to an attorney to try to untangle the mess, and asked dozens of property owners who used the road to pay a one-time fee of $500 to offset the legal bills.
That didn’t go over well with the neighbors who had been traveling the road for years to get to their homes. The conflict escalated when the Owenses put up signs warning the road was on private property, and installed a gate off a separate access road that led to seven homes.
Talks facilitated by the city broke down in April, and some residents worried the couple might block the road to force people to pay up.
Instead, the Owenses sold the property about a month ago to Excel Trust CEO Gary Sabin, who owns nine parcels further north near Old Coach Road and until recently lived in the area, Poway City Manager Dan Singer said.
Shortly thereafter, a banner was put up by neighbors thanking Sabin for solving the problem, and the gate and signs were removed.
Singer said Sabin needed to take action because he was having trouble obtaining building permits for his vacant lots since there was no legal access to the properties.
On Friday, a spokesman for Sabin confirmed the purchase of the property. The Owenses could not be reached for comment.
Singer said the Poway City Council will meet in closed session Tuesday where Singer will ask if the city can help resolve the remaining easement issues.
Because Sabin had to pay more for the undeveloped acreage than he felt it was worth, he wants to recoup some of his costs from the city in exchange for a public access easement. If the city refuses, he might ask the other property owners to contribute money to a fund for the same purpose, Singer said.
“It is now an issue between Gary Sabin and the neighbors,” said Poway City Councilman John Mullin, who has been acting as a liaison between the Owenses and other property owners for more than a year. “I understand he is much more amenable to working something out on a hand shake basis.”
Mullin said it was somewhat ridiculous it took so long to solve the issue.
“It’s unfortunate it took this much time and this much effort to get where we ended up,” he said. “I’m relieved they’ve been able to reach a resolution.”
