Gates come a tumbling down

Paul Clinton

SANTA ANA HEIGHTS -- Four months after agreeing to take down a network

of gates blocking a horse trail bordering her property, Carla Brockman

followed through on her promise.

The Newport Beach resident, who installed the gates almost a year ago,

reopened public access to a trail leading from Mesa Drive to Back Bay.

“I’m sorry that it took so long, but I’m glad the gate is down because

people wanted to use that trail for about 10 months,” Assistant City

Manager Dave Kiff said. “It’s about time they had access again.”

Last week, Brockman removed the gates, after the Orange County Board

of Supervisors approved an interim deal that would grant her protection

from liability.

Brockman ignited a firestorm of hostility in her quiet, equestrian

neighborhood in November when she put up a gate and steel chain to block

the 30-foot trail.

A small but dedicated group of neighbors had fought to reopen the

gates since then.

The temporary deal, which can be revoked by either Brockman or the

county on a 60-day notice, served as an emergency measure to get the

gates open, Deputy County Counsel Christopher Dargan said.

“We put this thing together to get the darn gates down,” Dargan said.

The deal came together last week after Supervisor Tom Wilson

intervened, agreeing to put the county on the hook for liability for any

injuries that occur on the trail.

Brockman has said she put the gates up after a local rider filed a

lawsuit following a fall from her horse.

“In a sign of good faith, she has agreed to open the gate,” said David

Cosgrove, Brockman’s attorney. “We were waiting for the approval” from

the board.

While the gates are now open, a permanent solution continues to elude

the parties involved in the issue.

The situation got murkier in early August, when another Brockman

neighbor sued her over access to an alley near the trail.

On Aug. 9, Richard Moriarty sued Brockman to open up a strip of dirt

behind her horse corrals.

In May, the county had tentatively agreed to buy a piece of the horse

trail from Brockman for $5,000 to permanently release the property owner

from liability. The Moriarty lawsuit has held up that transaction, Dargan

said.

The thorny issue has attracted a wide range of agencies and officials

scrambling to provide solutions, including Assemblyman John Campbell

(R-Irvine).

On his first day of office, Dec. 4, Campbell received 30 letters about

Brockman’s gate. Jennifer Cowan, a spokeswoman for Campbell, praised the

opening of the gates.

“If I was a community member, I would get on my horse and use that

trail,” Cowan said, “and not concern myself with other lawsuits.”