Los Gatos settled its lawsuit with Santa Clara County over an annexed portion of street that wanted a number of pricey repairs final month.
The city will get $1.565 million to assist fund the estimated $4.3 million in repairs wanted to repair the problematic stretch of Shannon Highway. Los Gatos accused the county of protecting up the required repairs so the street would now not be their downside.
“The city is grateful to have reached the settlements,” Los Gatos Mayor Maria Ristow stated in an announcement. “We sit up for a collaborative working relationship with the county on our many shared pursuits.”
Los Gatos sued the county in spring 2022 for $5.5 million, citing fraud, breach of contract and negligence after the portion of Shannon Highway the city had annexed got here with a protracted listing of repairs and important security considerations.
Whereas James Williams, counsel for Santa Clara County, stated, “It’s unlucky that the city pursued a litigation route,” he echoed Ristow’s sentiments in regards to the subsequent steps within the course of.
“We’re completely happy to maneuver issues ahead and that we’re in a position to make a contribution that may go towards a portion of the price of enhancing the street,” Williams stated. “We sit up for working with the city in a collaborative method on a complete host of points.”
The 1,300-foot stretch of street from Santa Rosa Drive to Diduca Approach was owned by the county earlier than Los Gatos annexed it in 2018. The street winds by the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains and climbs from 570 to 685 ft above sea degree.
Los Gatos argued that the county had made “undocumented, insufficient, ‘band-aid’ repairs” to facilitate the annexation after which handed off the street’s issues to the city.
The street has been affected by cracking and settlement, which may make it unsafe to drive on, since 2011. The county used asphalt patches, edge delineators and visitors signage as a substitute of reconstructing the street.
A county engineer who investigated the street stated in 2015 that it wanted to be fully reconstructed, with an embankment reinforcement corresponding to a retaining wall. Two years later, the county as a substitute repaved the street and put up signage to gradual visitors.
The county then contacted Los Gatos city workers about annexing the street, and then-parks and public works director Matt Morley expressed considerations about its situation.
In response, the county labored with Graniterock Development on a restore challenge, utilizing polymer injections to stabilize the street simply earlier than the land was formally annexed to Los Gatos in early 2018.
The challenge noticed 5-foot pipes inserted within the street and crammed with a polymer answer, which the lawsuit alleged was ineffective because the pavement began to peel 9 months later.
Los Gatos workers requested the county for assist repairing the street, however they have been met with pushback.