Residents of the Elizabeth in the Pines subdivision enjoyed a
small victory June 16 when commissioners granted permission to
delay work on County Road 21 until homeowners can move trees slated
for removal.
Tony Cosentino was one of several residents who attended the
county commissioner meeting to ask commissioners to stop work on
County Road 21 south of Colorado 86 until the fall. Cosentino has
worked in the tree-removal business and urged commissioners to
allow him to move some of the larger trees in the fall, when they
have a greater chance of survival.
Homeowners found May 11 that the trees along the front of their
property were marked for removal by the county. The trees are along
a county right of way, and their removal will make way for road
improvements on a section of County Road 21 south of Colorado 86.
The residents immediately took action to find out why the trees
were marked.
“The problem is not whether the trees are on a right of way,”
Cosentino said. “I have an issue with the fact that they were
prepared to come on to my property and take the trees down without
notifying me first.”
The county does not have the resources to notify landowners when
it becomes necessary to exercise an easement, said Tom Penewell,
head of Kiowa Road and Bridge.
“I wish I could shake everybody’s hand every time we need to do
road work, but I can’t,” Penewell said. “In this county we just own
the easement for the road and the right to do what is necessary in
the interest of public safety. We try to do the work while we’re in
the area.”
The road and bridge department was scheduled to make
improvements to the southern-most end of County Road 21, to
complete construction of a road abandoned by a developer and to
provide access to landowners who invested in property in a minor
development adjacent to Elizabeth in the Pines.
While that work was taking place, Penewell determined that the
road needed improvements along the way and decided to remove trees
in the easement for snow removal, site distance and other safety
concerns.
County Road 21 south of Colorado 86 was constructed in the
mid-1970s, and sits along the eastern-most border of a 50-foot
easement, Penewell said. Any improvements must be made along the
west side of the road, where residents of Elizabeth in the Pines
live.
“The state might have required [the developer] to align the road
with the pre-existing County Road 21, to the north,” Penewell said.
“The county is within 5 feet of the easement in some places.
There’s hardly room for a ditch. Therefore the road cannot go any
further east from where it’s sitting.”
Improvements to the road are not necessary, Elizabeth in the
Pines homeowner Bob Speaker said.
“There should be no reason for doing this,” Speaker said. “We’ve
never had any problems on that road.”
Commissioners delayed road improvements for six months, and
urged residents to remain in contact with Penewell to ensure open
communication.
Meanwhile, Cosentino is looking forward to saving as many trees
as possible.
“I get to move some trees,” he said.