Pankey Road easement vacated to Palomar College

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted to vacate a road easement on a portion of Pankey Road.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote April 13 returns the land rights, as well as the maintenance responsibility, to the Palomar Community College District. The replacement of that planned section of Pankey Road with a new alignment for the future Horse Ranch Creek Road removed the need for the easement, although a non-motorized trail easement has been reserved in case the area may be useful for non-motorized transportation.

One portion of the easement was dedicated on a 1985 subdivision map, although the easement was not accepted by the Board of Supervisors until August 2007, while another portion was an easement acquired by the County of San Diego in 1983.

In July 2008, the Palomar Community College District certified the Environmental Impact Report for the Fallbrook campus of Palomar College. The EIR analyzed the impacts associated with replacing the planned segment of Pankey Road with a new alignment identified as Horse Ranch Creek Road. In October 2009, the county supervisors approved a general plan amendment which removed that portion of Pankey Road from the county’s Circulation Element while adding the Horse Ranch Creek Road alignment to the Circulation Element. The realignment eliminated the need for that portion of Pankey Road.

The vacated portion is not on the county’s bicycle network plan, although the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation found that the easement may be useful as a future non-motorized transportation facility. In November 2009, the Fallbrook Community Planning Group voted 12-0 to recommend approval of the vacation.

The Palomar Community College District will pay for the cost to process the vacation, which is estimated at $2,500, and has placed a $2,500 deposit with the county.

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