The bucoli Tepusequet Road traverses the coastal reach of the San Rafael Mountains between the Santa Maria Mesa Road and State Highway 166, the main route between Santa Maria and Bakersfield, California. Tepusequet Road intersects with two small roads: Colson Canyon running to the east and serving as an access route to the Las Padres Forest and Blazing Saddles Road running to the west serving as an access point for several small residential acreages and the utility service route for a high-voltage powerline and a petroleum pipeline.
Up until 2015 or so, the primary land use was rural residential occupancy on acreage varying from 5 to 20 acres, up to about 100 acres per parcel. Retired folks, generations of families, and others seeking and enjoying the solitude of among the oaks and scrub brush. Warm sunny days followed by cooling marine breezes, making the location suitable for outdoor living. Except for Antollini's rock quarry and a couple of large ranches grazing cattle, there is, at best, little economic potential for the neighborhood. A couple of micro-vineyards have also been developed along the upper slopes of the canyon by Zuckerbaum, Reiswig, and Krankl.
Well, that's the way it used to be, but times have changed.
One of the changes involves a large acreage located near the summit of Tepusquet Road that is southeast of its intersection with Blazing Saddles. The property has had a colorful history enhanced by the eccentricities of the long-term owner and his efforts to divide and develop the property into smaller acreages. Run-ins with the neighbors, the county land use authorities, and the sheriff are events indicating a little black cloud of trouble may be lurking in the area. Al Capp's Joe Btfsplk come to mind whenever someone mentions the upper reaches of Tepusquet Road.
For now, a reading of the travails and professional experience of a local land surveyor are suggested to set the background for later commentary. The rigorous documentation, detailing the work, was published in two parts in The American Surveyor. This material should be required reading for surveyors, land title examiners, Realtors, and others curious about rural property.
- Part 1- The American Surveyor, Vol. 9, No. 19
- Part 2- The American Surveyor, Vol. 11, No. 1
The Conditional Certificates of Compliance filed in Santa Barbara County in documents 2011-74023 through 2011-74028 form the basis for future land uses in the area and are also listed in APNs 131-090-076, 078, 080, 081, and 082. Other interesting properties are nearby APNs 131-090-079 and 131-090-032.
Time and energy permitting, I may delve into other historically relevant geography and may reference some old maps.
In 1916, California State Mining Bureau published a map showing the roads, pipelines and other key terrain features. The detail and meaningful features illustrated by the cartographers continue to be relevant over a century later.
