Santa Gertrudis Lane
The Baca Float Coalition, Inc. is working to restore legal access to Santa Gertrudis Lane to the easement owners east of the Union Pacific railroad tracks.
A brief history of Santa Gertrudis Lane
Santa Gertrudis Lane has been used as a river crossing for over three hundred years. There is documentation relating how Spanish soldiers and others crossed the river there at the narrow part of the river. In 1899 when Santa Cruz County split off from Pima County, this crossing was referred to as a county road. The newly elected Board of Supervisors in 1900 referred to the crossing as a county road and discussed road maintenance.
In 1935 the Pendleton easement was prescribed in the legal and recorded deeds of sale to Misters Strong and Mallory, giving both location and condition of persons covered by the deeded easement. Those of us who reside in Baca Float No. 3 (the northeast corner of Rio Rico) are inheritors of this easement as a condition of our property ownership.
During the 1950s the Board of Supervisors established the width of all county roads as 60 feet with Santa Gertrudis included in the list. The residents of Santa Gertrudis Lane petitioned the County to build a bridge across the river in the late 1960s. Circa 1980 the county designated Santa Gertrudis Lane as a primitive road. Primitive Road signs were in evidence until 1998. This brief history outlines both a legal and prescriptive right to cross Santa Gertrudis Lane over an unbroken three hundred year period.
In 2002 the residents of the lane briefly closed the lane. Threatened with a lawsuit, the Santa Gertrudis Land Assoc., LLC, in November of 2002 agreed to stand down from their opposition to public use in the future.
Current Status
Santa Gertrudis Lane is currently closed and gated. We now know from verbal comments of railroad officials and testimony before the Arizona Corporation Commission, that the railroad was approached by a representative of the lane residents to close Santa Gertrudis Lane. This is a violation of the 2002 Gentlemen's agreement. This breach is the reason for the Baca Float Coalition, Inc's decision to pursue a legal remedy. We cannot continue to revisit this issue every four or five years. Our legal right to cross Santa Gertrudis Lane must be resolved.
The Baca Float Coalition, Inc. has procured the services of a local attorney to prepare documentation, to place the Santa Gertrudis Lane LLC on notice of our intent, and to file a preliminary injunction to reopen and keep the road available for use. The attorney will also keep Union Pacific Railroad informed of this situation. It is our hope that a settlement can be reached in this matter. If not, the Baca Float Coalition, Inc. is prepared to retain legal representation from a law firm specializing in land law litigation.
What You Can Do
The Baca Float Coalition, Inc. was formed to represent the citizens of northeast Rio Rico in issues that affect all of us, both those who live here and those doing business here. Our goals also benefit the commerce of this entire area. The dues from our members (over a hundred strong already) fund our actions.
We have also established a legal fund specifically for the legal research and filing on Santa Gertrudis Lane. The larger our membership, the greater our influence on the county, and the more representative we are of those we serve. It is essential that we expand our membership to as many of our residents as possible. You are invited to join the Baca Float Coalition, Inc. and lend your voice to our efforts.
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