Palomar Mountain News

Helping a property owner move a trailer sure opened my eyes.  My husband Don, and son Nathan, spent a couple hours, trimming along the road.  They had permission from the property owners to cut trees, trim branches, and brush.  (They didn’t count on the poison oak – that showed up later!)  Then Don made 8 trips with his tractor delivering and compacting eight tons of decomposed granite.  That DG filled in some huge ruts that would have made it impossible to get this trailer out. The trimming made a difference, but as you can see, it was very close quarters.

The trailer was 12 feet wide by 24 feet long and 13 feet high.  Sharing the video below with Mountain News Subscribers was not my intent when I grabbed my phone to take it.  Coming up the road was pretty scary and once Don started out, it was total commitment.  They had to take the trailer out through a pole gate. When the gate was measured, they had four inches of clearance on each side of the trailer.  Don did have Sam Taylor out there with his welder just in case one side of the gate needed to go away.  They made it through the gate but it was pretty tight!

When I was filming the video below, the thought came to me, “Wow, this trailer is about the same size as the fire trucks up here!!!”  A fire truck on a call could not have possibly stopped to do all the trimming on the way in.   There is no way they could have even made it through the initial entrance of this road without cutting branches and filling the ruts.  There are four cabins at the end of this road that some fire trucks couldn’t possibly get to.

Fire trucks aren’t the only trucks that can not get down quite a few of our roads these days.  New requirements for propane and septic trucks have companies needing much bigger vehicles.  There are many cabins those new trucks can not get to now to service properties until road grooming is done.

With the frequent rain we’ve had, our trees have really shot up.  “Trees are just like children, they grow up so fast!”  I’m suggesting neighbors work together, evaluate the road access and do some spring grooming!

Our Fire Safe Council has some grant funds available that may help, too.

We’re in this together!    Bonnie Phelps

The talent on this mountain is amazing!  Read More…

Labor Day Weekend has historically been such a fun time on Palomar.  We have had a barbecue, craft booths, fun games, live music.  Smith Mountain Band is pictured and is always a favorite.

What ideas do you have for this September? 

Come on out Saturday morning, 10am at the trailer behind the fire station.

Thank you! 

Terri Sproul

Community Center Chair

Know someone looking for a summer job?  What an experience of a lifetime to work at Palomar Christian Conference Center.  Check out the options at pccc.org

History in the making!  After over 100 years, most of Birch Hill has now recognized ‘legal access’ by the county.  The photo shows the Lodge area in the upper left.  The old Road Survey 453A going out, into Birch Hill, connects with the red markings showing original roads on Birch Hill.  We have letters and maps provided by the county, giving our title company the authority they need to plot the roads. Five escrows closed over the past few months with the ‘red road’ taking them right to their doors.  Hooray for clear title so most lenders now can provide a loan or re-fi for your properties on that map.

When the easement project had its beginnings in 2005, approximately 80% of the properties on Palomar showed up as ‘landlocked’ on title reports.  Now, approximately 80% have plotted access, removing the landlocked wording, showing clear title.

However, we still have a small pocket of properties to resolve in the ‘Heart’ of Birch Hill.  

Rob Hawk, has volunteered to help head up this last need for clear title for Birch Hill.  Rob has served on the PMPO in the past and is a property owner on the mountain.  He is retired from the City of San Diego as Senior Geologist and Deputy City Engineer, both in land development and public works. He has a working knowledge of what needs to be done. Rob will be contacting property owners and potentially working with a surveyor.  Legal descriptions would be worked out for the existing road. Then, clear access, finally granted to the very last property owners in the heart of Birch Hill.

These properties are all landlocked on title.  The properties affected are burdened with easements for the road, and have been for burdened with road easements going back to 1885.  The language wasn’t done properly so that is what needs to be resolved.  The goal is to continue to travel on the pre-existing roads, as traveled for over 100 years, but with a legal, deeded access for EVERYONE.

We would love to have this completed within a year.

Other areas on Palomar have some access needs that may be addressed at some point to remove the clouds on title.  Time will tell.  A very sincere thanks to Mike Pique and Rob Hawk and others for their support and work done to come this far in securing this deeded legal assess.

For more back ground, see also Easement and Loans on Palomar and Easement Progress on Palomar

Bonnie Phelps

For sale on Palomar is one of the best constructed luxury fifth wheels in the industry – a 2014 DRV Mobile Suites 36RSSB3. When new it had an MSRP of $115,000. It’s a four season RV built for extended stay or full time use with four slides and an industry leading 6’7” height in the master retreat. It has a washer and dryer, two TVs with a home entertainment system, a fireplace, 2 ducted A/C units, thermopane windows, a central vacuum, 2 power awnings and much more. It’s 37’ and has all of the comforts of home and unsurpassed quality for $65,000.

It’s currently parked up on Palomar for occasional weekend use but it would also be perfect for the desert, beaches or where ever the road takes you. If you would like to take a look, please contact Don or Mindy Grant at grant2580@gmail.com or call (760)798-9842.

Or if your dreams also include owning one of the nicest pieces of land on Palomar Mountain call Bonnie Phelps for a tour of both the land and the RV:  ://www.palomarproperties.com/lotsandland/index.html

Please share… and thank you!

Occasionally we have surveyors on the mountain.  It is important to respect their stakes, pins, whiskers and flags.  If I have any knowledge of the survey, I am now asking the surveyors to put business cards at doors of properties close to the stakes.  That should help if there are any questions or concerns to be able to go straight to the source.

It is very important to not ever remove or tamper with any markings.

Click for the law – yes, it is a law to not tamper with survey monuments or markers 

When you do have a recorded survey, the surveyors usually mark the property with wooden stakes where corner pins are set.  They will sometimes also place property line markers with wooden stakes like what is pictured.

I’m working with a listing now that had a very extensive, and expensive survey a number of years ago.  The property owner paid for numerous line stakes, corners set and all marked with wooden stakes.  Over the years, those wooden stakes have disappeared.  A foot of snow around a thin piece of wood, and that wood doesn’t last long.  Erosion on hillsides can bury stakes pretty quick. Branches fall and for what ever reason, the stakes come down and disappear.

When you have recorded corner markers and property line stakes set by licensed surveyors, it is wise to add steel stakes.  It can be helpful to paint the tops a bright color so you can see them from a distance, and check on them once in a while to maybe add a fresh coat of paint.

Also, take photos right after the survey with each stake and a large tree, boulders or maybe a building or road in the photo.  It can add a lot of value to property to have clearly marked corners and find them in the future if property is ever sold.

I’m always available to answer any questions.

Respectfully,

Bonnie Phelps

Everyone is invited to the Fire Safe Council meeting tomorrow.

10 am, behind the fire station in the office building.

Here is the agenda: AgendaPMFSC 2017_04_25

Wishing you a very Happy Easter Celebration filled with lots of joy!

Bonnie and Don