Highland realigns trail to end tiff

HIGHLAND — A tiff over Highland's open space usage has prompted the city to move a portion of an existing trail rather than sell the entire trail corridor to abutting homeowners — including two whose property the trail encroaches on.

Garrett Lyman, who has lived in Highland for about four years, said he approached the Highland City Council on May 2 with a purchase proposal he and his neighbors had signed.

The path, which runs behind their houses, is a small branch of a larger trail in the Dry Creek Bench area near West Bull River Road, and Lyman thinks the city would be better off to have the money than the land.

"I'm not necessarily an opponent of trails, but having lived on one for four years, it's created some very significant safety concerns for my family," Lyman said. "(The city) doesn't have the money to address those concerns in an appropriate way."

Lyman said motorized vehicles regularly zoom along the path, which overlaps onto his property by about 7 feet, which he says presents a hazard to his small children.

Instead of selling the land, the council decided to move and realign the portion of the trail that overlaps onto private property and repave the segment by June 2. As for off-road vehicles, the city installed posts at either end of the trail to prevent entry and promised to increase police patrol of the path.

According to Councilman Brian Brunson, selling the trail would set a negative precedent that would unravel the city's efforts to make Highland known for its trails and open space.

The city has approximately seven miles of trails, and more than 300 acres of open space, according to city administrator Barry Edwards. That open space is one of the most attractive qualities Highland has to offer, Brunson said.

"It's a little frustrating to me that some people don't see the vision of the open space the city has acquired," Brunson said. "I think Highland's at the forefront of the state in providing recreational trails. I personally think that's one of the reasons real estate values are doing so well."

One reason Highland has so much open space is because of development agreements the city has with developers. In 2000, the city employed a standard of 50 percent open space acreage to 50 percent developed ground.

That amount dropped to 35 percent open space in 2002 and 30 percent in 2004, Edwards said.

Most of the 300-plus acres were garnered over a two-year period, from approximately 2002-04. As open space developments have decreased this past year, the city has slowed in its acquisition of new land.