The location of East Fork Road through Triumph was solidified during a public hearing Tuesday in a move that neighbors say they hope will resolve neighborhood disputes.
A 1970 plat of the Wooden Hills subdivision in Triumph out East Fork Road solidified the legal right of way along the road. During the meeting at the old Blaine County Courthouse in Hailey, County Engineer Jim Koonce said the original plat was full of errors, as was the plat amendment conducted several months later.
Not only does the original platted right of way run through several buildings that predate the survey, each plat places the county right of way in a slightly different spot.
This ambiguity has led property owners to accuse neighbors of encroaching on county property, though it's hard to say if the accusations are valid, Koonce said.
"It's a horrifically screwed-up mess out there," he said.
Carl Massaro, a resident of Triumph, said in a written public comment that neighbor Dan Tucker's fence encroaches on public land.
"We are supposed to have 66 feet at that intersection," Massaro wrote, referring to a state right of way that has since been vacated.
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Despite the lack of foundation to Massaro's statement, Triumph resident Wendy Collins contended the strongly worded tone of his statement has made designation of a new right of way a matter of public safety.
"As a woman, it's become very uncomfortable for me," she said. "This seems to be the solution for a problem that absolutely must be solved in order to maintain civility."
The county right of way is based off the existing road and extends 50 feet from the center line along much of its length.
Brian Yeager of Galena Engineering, who conducted the survey, said that in some areas the right of way is narrower in order to honor original boundaries. Unlike the previously platted county corridors, the new right of way does not run through any existing buildings.
Yeager said the county's dedication of a new right of way today leaves some questions unresolved.
The narrower right-of-way leaves former county land without an owner, and in some areas, homeowners' trees or fences may be encroaching on newly dedicated county land.
"There are some issues that need to be cleaned up," he said.
The commissioners said they'd look into these and other issues in the future, but that it likely would not be top priority.
"It's not going to cause the county to lose any sleep, I think," joked Commissioner Larry Schoen at the meeting's end.
Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com
Triumph resident Dan Tucker stands next to his property on the south side of East Fork Road, an old barn that has been converted into a home. Previous surveys placed the county’s right of way directly under Tucker’s house, but a recent county action determined that Tucker’s home does not encroach on county property. Photo by Willy Cook
