Several residents have filed a lawsuit against the Town of Edgewood and a property owners’ association over ownership of a road in a housing subdivision.
The lawsuit was filed because of a Jan. 16 Edgewood Commission decision to affirm approvals to taxi aircraft on roads in the Sandia Airpark Estates subdivision. The Independent reported that Edgewood residents had mixed feelings about the repercussions for Rainbow Road and the homeowners who live on the street. Many residents approved of the decision, saying that it will lead to much-needed road repairs, but others expressed concerns that the decision may mean that Rainbow Road would be designated a public road.
Those residents say that the road is in fact private according to land ownership documents, and feel that they have enough evidence to go forward with a lawsuit against the Town of Edgewood and the Sandia Airpark Estates Property Owners’ Association (SAEPOA).
They are suing for an injunction to stop the road from being designated public.
The plaintiffs are residents and property owners of Sandia Airpark Estates and several members of the SAEPOA. According to the lawsuit, because they are members of the SAEPOA, they are “entitled to use the roadways within the subdivision both for vehicular traffic and to taxi aircraft to and from the Sandia Airpark runway” which includes Rainbow Road. The lawsuit also alleges that Santa Fe County property records state that “All roads shown hereon will be maintained by the Homeowners Association.”
Karen Davisson, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, says there is confusion over who can legally make decisions about Rainbow Road in the future.
“The lawsuit is not to prevent the paving of Rainbow Road,” Davission said. “We filed a lawsuit against Ken White [a Sandia Air Park resident] for filing the quick claim deed to the road that he didn’t have a right to do. We filed against the town to prevent them from doing anything with that road until we have a judgment. Are these roads public or private? Who owns them?”
In an email to The Independent, Edgewood Town Manager Nina McCracken said, “Our road supervisor confirmed that Rainbow Road is maintained for patching as needed and snow removal. It is observed for repairs when the road crew goes to blade adjacent roads that are still dirt.”
Community members have also voiced concerns that former Town Commissioner Jerry Powers has benefitted unfairly from owning property within the subdivision while serving as commissioner. They allege the commissioners deciding to make the roads public and increase traffic would have directly benefited his property values. According to Santa Fe County Assessor records, Powers owns a 0.79 acre lot within the subdivision on Sandia Mountain Trail.
Powers announced at a July 9 meeting that he is stepping down as town commissioner.
The town has filed a motion to have the case dismissed. As of April 16, a judge has yet to make a ruling about the motion.
Davisson says at the heart of the matter, it’s about private owners’ property rights. She said, “It has to do with government takeover of private land.”