Committee delays Old Clear Creek Road recommendation

Carson City's Open Space Advisory Committee agreed to wait until October to formally address the ongoing issue of access to public land through the privately owned and maintained Old Clear Creek Road.

After an hour of testimony from homeowners and locals who use the public land to the west for recreation, the panel opted to redraft an advisory letter it was planning to send to the Board of Supervisors regarding the matter.

Last week, on the advice of their attorney, a collection of residents who own property in the winding canyon pass announced they were going to install a gate east of the U.S. Highway 50 junction on Old Clear Creek Road to bar access to motorists and bicyclists to prevent what they say is an increasingly dangerous situation - one that could eventually result in a costly lawsuit.

Old Clear Creek Road was abandoned by the Nevada Department of Transportation in 1948 after the state opened of the four-lane Spooner Highway. And while the road crossed Carson City, Douglas County and Washoe Tribe land, none of the entities wanted to adopt it, so it became the property of the local homeowners.

Michael Arnold, who has lived in the area since 1999, said the group of residents on Old Clear Creek Road who purchased the $8,000 gate plan to install it in the near future with the support of the Washoe Tribe.

He said about 90 percent of the 33 residents on the road helped pay for the gate that will open by remote control or keypad for visitors. It also will open by sliding up instead of swinging open because of the snowfall.

Members of the Open Space Advisory Committee agreed Monday that the liability of the homeowners was at stake, but also expressed concern over maintaining access to the publicly owned lands that have been used for recreation for decades.

"I think there's a better solution than what's being put together right now and that's restricting valuable public lands," said Howard Riedl, a member of the committee.

Riedl also noted that those who enter the area from the Highway 50 offramp west of the homeowners on Old Clear Creek Road are met by no trespassing signs in every direction.

Committeewoman Patricia Lincoln said more emphasis needed to be placed on the private homeowners in the letter, adding the city has no jurisdiction over the road that is owned by the local residents.

"Carson City didn't want the road, (the homeowners) got it by default," Lincoln said. "Do we want it now? Are they ready to give it to us? Are we ready to pay to have it fixed?"

Patrick Pittenger, the city's transportation manager, said he has been studying the issue for about a year, adding the matter is ultimately in the hands of those who own the road: The homeowners.

"The city has not taken a stance of forcing anybody to do anything," Pittenger said.