TO: Mendocino Board of Supervisors
FROM: Tracey Douglas, a Brooktrails property owner
RE: Agenda item 4g - In FAVOR of alternative to CSA3 / OPPOSED to new Deeded Easement being required

I support proceeding with a Benefit Assessment process for the EAR maintenance BUT ALSO recommend using the existing agreements and NOT require NEW Deeded Easements.

I stand in support of the comments made thus far. Additionally, during "Snowmaggedon", thirteen trees fell across Primrose Drive next to my property blocking all access to or exit from my section of Primrose Drive. During that time, an emergency was called in and first responders were unable to answer the call since there was no way to access properties in my area. I have seen how no access to an area can put residents in grave danger. Had my area of Primrose Drive been blocked off during a fire, residents in this area of Brooktrails have had no way out!

An EAR for my area of Primrose Drive is being held up by ONE corporate owner who has not responded to multiple requests for access; all other property owners have given access permission. This is not acceptable. Residents of this area desperately need the support from the BOS to remedy this situation.

I strongly urge you to move forward with urgency on all matters concerning EARs; any delays can be life threatening and continued maintenance needs to continue on a timely basis so we don't end up right back where we started.

Respectfully,
Tracey Douglas
3408 Primrose Drive

September 22, 2023
TO: Mendocino County Board of Supervisors
FROM: Keith Rutledge – as a Mendocino County property owner not on behalf of Sherwood Firewise
RE: Agenda Item 4g – In favor of alternative to CSA3 / Opposed to Deeded Easement being required
Dear Supervisors,
After 5 years of many people’s efforts and tens of thousands of dollars in development of the Emergency Access Route (EAR) maintenance funding Pilot Project we are at another crossroad. The initial issues about the existing road quality were resolved with Director Dashiell working with CALFIRE to come up with an adequate emergency route specification – not perfect but adequate, reliable and sustainable.
The next issue has been the maintenance funding process with CSA3 ZoB being what the County has been suggesting but the County Counsel is now saying that there may be another more beneficial assessment process. The CSA3 process has had a “1 year pause” with LAFCo and the County trying to determine what needed to be done to form the new ZoB. Now LAFCo permission will not be required.
The current issue is whether the Memorandum of Understanding agreement that the EAR landowners have signed and have operated under for the past 5 years is going to be “adequate, reliable and sustainable” enough to allow the impacted property owners the opportunity to vote on whether to assess themselves. In an ideal world, the County would have required the developer to provide “adequate, reliable and sustainable” EAR’s as part of the new subdivision. For the County to now say that this is what will be required is not only ironic but also is completely impractical.
The proposed Pilot Program is meant to TRY something new and find out what works and what doesn’t. While the Brooktrails / Sherwood Firewise pilot program may work well in this situation there may need to be other procedures developed for other communities. My personal opinion is that the property owners along the EAR routes appreciate the voluntary agreement and are also appreciative of the good vegetation management their property is receiving at no cost to them.
One KEY point is the confusion over an “Emergency Access Route” – a physical road that is adequate, reliable and sustainable if properly maintained – vs an agreement to allow access for vegetation management along the route. Permission is NOT required for the Emergency Access Route use during an emergency and under the direction of law enforcement and incident commanders. The Staff reports mention the loss of an entire EAR should one owner terminate the voluntary vegetation management agreement. This is NOT the case. The EAR’s in this case have been long used for emergency access without any form of agreement. The failure is not with Emergency Access, it’s with performing periodic maintenance and that is what the Pilot Project is meant to do.
I have made some comments to the staff report directly in their documents. Thank you for reviewing those comments. Please make the decision to continue with the voluntary maintenance agreements as part of the Benefit Assessment and let the property owners have the opportunity to discuss this and vote on it. If all works, then the easy way was hard enough. Should the Pilot have issues, changes can be made to address those as they come up.
Sincerely, Keith

Dear Supervisors,
Regarding Agenda Item 4g)

Discussion and Possible Action Including Direction to County Staff to Continue Work on Necessary Steps to Implement the Pilot Program for the Sherwood Road Area and Revaluation of Prior Direction Regarding the Use of Licenses vs. Easements

I urge the Board to proceed with the Pilot Program using licenses.

I totally agree with the previous comments that we need serviceable Emergency Access Routes NOW. The Oak Fire of 2020 proved the efficacy of an improved and maintained EAR. The work done on the FirCo and Willits Creek EAR’s have established routes that will be serviceable for many years. Should a landowner withdraw from an agreement post improvement, CALFIRE will still have access to a functional route to fight the wildfire, and allow for speedy evacuation via Sherwood Road.

Mendocino County allowed for the faulty development of Brooktrails without adequate water and transportation needs. Action and implementation has been put off too long. We need to move forward before there is significant loss of life and property.
Bonnie Belt
Brooktrails resident
2291 Buckeye Drive
Willits, CA 95490

Greetings to the Board,
I urge the Board to proceed with the Pilot Program using licenses.

I have reviewed the documents submitted by the Department of Transportation and County staff. I understand the rationale for pursuing easements. BUT we need serviceable Emergency Access Routes NOW. The Oak Fire of 2020 proved the efficacy of an improved and maintained EAR. The work done on the FirCo and Willits Creek EAR’s have established routes that will be serviceable for many years. Should a landowner withdraw from an agreement post improvement, CALFIRE will still have access to a functional route to fight the wildfire, and allow for speedy evacuation via Sherwood Road.
Mendocino County allowed for the faulty development of Brooktrails without adequate water and transportation needs. Action and implementation has been put off too long. We need to move forward before there is significant loss of life and property.

I appreciate the work you all are doing in support of our community. I’ve been to enough meetings to know I don’t want the job. Unfortunately I will be traveling on 9/26 and unable to attend the meeting.