LITTLETON, Colo. — The City of Littleton plans to reopen a trail connecting Jackass Hill Park and the High Line Canal Trail after a nearby homeowner, mistakenly believing it was their private property, closed the connector last fall.
A surveyor confirmed that the city indeed owns the right-of-way on the trail segment, the city said in a press release on Monday.
The 400-foot stretch of trail closed in November, and a sign was put up reading, "Private property and driveway, violators will be prosecuted." On Dec. 1, Denver7 spoke with people who live or recreate in the area, who said they were upset about the sudden closure and the one-mile detour.
"I'm worried about the safety factor because the solution without that pass-through is to go all the way to Mineral, which is a busy street, and it puts kids and all ages of cyclists out on a busy street, whereas we had safe passage over into the other neighborhood on Jackass Hill," Kathy Beach, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1985, told Denver7.
The residents said they understood that they would "just have to suck it up" if the connector was indeed on private property. Denver7 attempted to contact the homeowner but did not hear back for our December story.
- Hear from neighbors and folks who recreate on the High Line Canal Trail about their reactions to the closure last fall in our Dec. 1, 2024, report below.
At that time, the city wrote on social media that it was working with the property owner, who they said owned the access trail, to try to reach a solution. However, the city said it had "many unsuccessful attempts to connect" with the adjacent homeowner.
As an alternative route, the city ordered a property survey to determine the exact location of the public right-of-way. The city also brought in outside legal counsel to complete property research and advise the city.
The surveyor was able to confirm that the city owns the right-of-way on the trail segment.
The city was able to reach the homeowner in mid-March and "has been committed to continuing an open and productive dialogue to address any concerns related to the public use of the trail, and to ensure coordination with the city’s plans and timeline for reopening the trail," the City of Littleton said.
City Manager Jim Becklenberg spoke with Denver7 on Monday. He said over recent decades, there have been various "assumptions" about who owns the land.
"That is why we've taken some time to do the deeper dive on the land use there and all the issues," he said. "We need to move as quickly as we can to reopen that trail, while also still trying to have some dialogue with the neighbors about how we can make it work the best for everybody."
The neighbor who closed off the trail had "over the years, expressed some security concerns" to the city, according to Becklenberg, because of busy foot, bike and vehicle traffic on the trail and her property. However, Becklenberg said conversations about how to remedy those concerns aren't finished yet.
"We're still trying to find some agreement on mitigations and things that might help that feel better to all the people involved there," he said.
The trail is expected to reopen on or before May 1.
