Update #4: About Easements

There are indeed several easements on the 5323 Ironwood property that could prevent building on some areas of the lot, but only if those easements are enforced. Our neighbor who was involved in the Elkmont Canyon litigation said that the drainage easements in Elkmont canyon actually belonged to the adjacent homeowners.

Interestingly the government, I believe it was RPV city government, told the Elkmont homeowners that their easements were “abandoned”. One of the homeowners objected and complained to their title insurance company, and the title insurance company sued the city and won. So I think we have to be careful that the city doesn’t automatically assume that any easements in the Ironwood canyon are “abandoned”, especially if they belong to any of us homeowners.

It sounds like the planning and zoning department was somewhat vague or perhaps just didn’t know who the drainage easements belonged to? In The Elkmont Canyon case, homeowners hired a local attorney to research the ownership of the easements, and that’s how they found out they (the homeowners) owned them. The City Of RPV apparently wasn’t able to provide them with this information.

Action Item: If anyone on this list lives on Silver Spur or Ironwood adjacent to the canyon, and you still have a copy of your title insurance, it may state on your documents that you have ownership of one of these easements. It sure would be helpful to know this! If you don’t have a copy, contacting your title insurance company may be a way to get a copy.

I contacted the company that wrote the title insurance on my home, and unfortunately they had been sold to another company that did not maintain the records, so my title insurance was unavailable.