On this 18th day of September, 2001, on motion of Supervisor Postmus, duly seconded by Supervisor Hansberger, and carried, the following resolution is adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Bernardino, State of California, acting in its official capacity as the legislative body of the County of San Bernardino:
WHEREAS, the United States Congress, intending to promote the settlement of the Western United States by establishment of highways, granted the right-of-way for the construction of highways over public lands, not reserved for public uses in Section 8 of the Mining Act of 1866, re-enacted and recodified as revised Statutes 2477 (R.S. 2477) 43. U.S.C. Section 932; and
WHEREAS, San Bernardino County, when established in 1853, included considerable areas for ranching, farming, and mining, with intensive prospecting and exploration for valuable minerals, forest and agricultural products; and,
WHEREAS, much of the mountains, desert and valley areas of the County became laced with networks of wagon roads, trails, horse and footpaths to facilitate such activities; and,
WHEREAS, many of these roads, trails and paths have been in general use by the public since that time, and many have been further developed into mining roads, logging roads, and access roads, for the removal of minerals, forest products, agricultural products; and,
WHEREAS, other of these roads, trails and paths have continued in use by the general public for hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding and other recreational uses; and,
WHEREAS, there now exists in San Bernardino County, an extensive network of roads, mining roads, logging roads, trails, horse trails, hiking trails and footpaths, all of which provide access to and throughout National Forest, Bureau of Land Management and Mojave National Preserve lands representing a substantial portion of the land within San Bernardino County; and,
WHEREAS, these rights-of-way are essential to the County's Transportation and Public Access Systems and the public has relied on and continues to rely on them since prior to October 21, 1976; and,
WHEREAS, Search and Rescue, Resource Management, Fire Protection, Health and Law Enforcement Personnel rely on these access roads to carry out important functions; and,
WHEREAS, public access to routes of travel are essential to the economic, social and political well being of the communities within the County; and,
WHEREAS, these rights-of-way are important to the free flow of commerce in the United States; and,
WHEREAS, other property owners may have succeeded the United States as owners of servient estates traversed by rights-of-way acquired by the County and the public pursuant to the grant in R.S. 2477 and the rights of those property owners in the servient estate is limited by the obligation to honor the rights-of-way accepted by the public pursuant to the grant offered under R.W. 2477; and,
WHEREAS, the elderly, physically handicapped and disabled require routes of travel accessible by motor vehicle to gain access to the public lands, resources and private property within the County; and,
WHEREAS, these rights-of-way also serve to provide access to a variety of improvements made upon the public by the public, Federal permittees and citizens, including wells, springs, corrals and watering facilities for wildlife, and such maintenance has been historically performed, and such maintenance cannot be performed in absence of the use of these vehicle routes; and,
WHEREAS, the County's right, title and interest in these rights-of-way include the right, but not the obligation, to perform construction and maintenance which is reasonable and necessary for safe passage for the uses established prior to the repeal of R.S. 2477 and as those uses may increase over time based upon currently applicable safety standards; and,
WHEREAS, the rights-of-way acquired pursuant to R.S. 2477 have not been abandoned or waived except where formal procedures provided under State law have been followed; and,
WHEREAS, it is the policy of the County to ensure that all rights-of-way acquired pursuant to R.S. 2477 be retained in perpetuity for the use and benefit of the public unless abandoned in accordance with applicable law.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS:
1. The County and the public have acquired rights-of-way pursuant to R.S. 2477 in those certain ways provided by California and Federal Law, including, but ot limited to, the following:
a.Use by County or public with the intention of creating a public highway over public lands; or
b. Construction or maintenance of a highway; or
c. Inclusion of the right-of-way in a State, County or Municipal road system, plat, description, or map of county roads; or
d. Expenditure of any public funds on the highway; or
e. Execution of a Memorandum of Understanding or other agreement with any other or private entity or agency of the Federal Government that recognizes the right or obligation of the County to construct or maintain a highway or a portion of a highway; or
f. Any other act by the County or the public consistent with State or Federal Law indicating acceptance of a right-of-way; or
g. Used by the public for a period required by the California Civil Code.
2. The County hereby finds that any roads located in the County, which fall in the purview of the conditions above set forth, are R.S. 2477 rights-of-way.
3. The County shall not be deemed to consent or have consented to the exchange or abandonment of any R.S. 2477 rights-of-way unless a formal written resolution specifically so stating has been passed at a duly called public meeting of the County Board of Supervisors. No employees or agents of the County have been given authority to abandon, waive or exchange any R.S. 2477 right-of-way and any prior action by any employee or agent purporting to take such action was void when taken, unless in the case of exchange, later ratified by formal action of the Board of Supervisors.
4. Where an R.S. right-of-way has been acquired through public use, the failure by the County to conduct mechanical maintenance of said right-of-way shall not affect in any way the status of said right-of-way as a highway acquired by the public pursuant to R.S. 2477.
5. The omission of any right-of-way from any plat, description, or map of County roads or highways, whether required by State law or otherwise, shall not be deemed to waive or a failure to acquire the grant offered under R.S. 2477.
6. Scope of Right-of-Way:
a. Scope of the R.S. 2477 Right-of-Way is that which is reasonable;
b. The scope of R.S. 2477 Right-of-Way includes the right to widen the highway as necessary to accommodate the increased travel associated with all accepted uses, up to where applicable, improving a highway so travelers can safely pass each other, and to modify or change horizontal alignment, and/or vertical profiles where the roads require for public safety and to meet current design standards.
7. This resolution is not intended to include any street or highway into the County maintained road system, excepting those roads previously included in such system, and the County thereby does not accept any obligation or responsibility for maintenance of any of said roads if such road was not already in the County maintained road system.
8. The inclusion of roads in the County maintained road system shall be in accordance with Streets and Highways Code Section 941 et seq.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Supervisors of San Bernardino County, State of California, by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors: Postmus, Mikels, Hansberger, Aguiar
NOES: Supervisors: None
ABSENT: Supervisors: EavesSTATE OF CALIFORNIA)
) ss
COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO )I, J. RENEE BASTIAN, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Bernardino, State of California, hereby certify the foregoing to be a full, true, and correct copy of the record of action taken by said Board of Supervisors, by vote of the members present, as the same appears in the Official Minutes of said Board at its meeting of September 18, 2001.