Beachwalker rejects city's easement settlement

The city of Blaine and Beachwalker Villas Association are in an easement disagreement that have already cost both parties thousands in legal fees to determine whether the city can construct a trail in front of the condominium property. A beach pathway in front of Beachwalker already connects the Semiahmoo Spit trail loop, but the trail the city proposes would connect the adjacent Marin and Semiahmoo Shores properties through a more inland pathway.

The city and Beachwalker have been split since 2018 on the location of a public access easement that was created in 1985, when the Semiahmoo Spit Boundary Line Adjustment was recorded. The two groups are at an impasse over whether the easement made in 1985 was floating, meaning it was defined in general terms without a definitive location. The city argues the easement was to be measured 30-feet inland from the ordinary high water mark at the time of construction, placing it closer to the Beachwalker property. Beachwalker representatives argue the easement has a defined area on the beach that would not put it as close to the condominiums.

The city gained new easements to Beachwalker’s adjacent properties, Marin and Semiahmoo Shores, in 2013 and 2018. Beachwalker homeowner association boardmember Susan Stearns said Beachwalker learned in 2018 the city wanted to connect an eight-foot-wide gravel trail through Beachwalker to connect to the newer, adjacent properties. The city added the trail project to its 2018-2024 Capital Improvement Plan, which has led the city to do design and permitting in recent years in preparation for construction.

After three years of disagreement, the city offered a $15,000 settlement in December 2021 in exchange for Beachwalker to amend the existing public access easement. The trail would be three feet below the ground level of the condominiums and enhance native vegetation. With this offer, the city would maintain the path on the Beachwalker property and oversee signage. The trail would act as a protective barrier for sea level rise and storm surges, of which the city would be in charge of paying and overseeing permits, according to the proposed settlement.

In January, Beachwalker’s attorney, Mitchell G. Faber of Adelstein, Sharpe & Serka LLP, wrote a letter to the city’s attorney rejecting the settlement offer.

“Beachwalker appreciates the change in the city’s approach to this offer in comparison to the previous discussions and the city’s attempts to address some of the impacts of the proposed path on Beachwalker’s residents,” the letter reads. “However, the reality is that an upland path will substantially and fundamentally change the privacy enjoyed by the Beachwalker’s residents, and no mitigating measures can change that fact. The proposed payment does not begin to offset the difference created by moving the easement from its present location on the beach.”

Stearns presented the homeowner association’s perspective to Blaine City Council during their March 14 meeting. Stearns said during the presentation that she needed to know whether city council would pursue litigation, as she would need to update the homeowners who would eventually need a supermajority vote to approve a pathway decision that could impact property value.

“We’re not trying to block anything. We just don’t want the city to come in and build this new pathway because it sits up higher, closer to the buildings,” Stearns later said. “It’s a privacy issue. People walking down this path the city wants to build will be able to look into the windows of people’s bedrooms and bathrooms and people are on their back patio.”

If city and Beachwalker representatives can’t figure out an agreement, the city could file for a judge to determine the 1985 easement boundaries in court. Stearns said Beachwalker could file for an injunction if the city started trail construction.

Blaine city manager Michael Jones wrote in a statement to The Northern Light that the city has been planning on a loop trail around Semiahmoo Spit for three decades to make it a more attractive destination. The city has spent $86,700 on the Beachwalker segment of the trail since 2018, $58,400 of which were attorney fees, according to a city memo. Stearns said Beachwalker has similar legal fees.

“It’s always complicated and challenging balancing public benefits and private property rights, and the process to clarify the easement status and work with the property owners to coordinate trail construction is no exception,” Jones said. “The city council has been committed to this project for years. In the end council will have to decide to either finish the trail despite Beachwalker Villas owners being opposed to the project, or not finish it and leave the missing link in the loop trail.”