"All that certain tract of land." Those words come from a deed Jose Arano signed on December 30, 1876, giving the Santa Cruz Railroad Company land for a right-of-way, a main track, a side track and a depot. About 150 years later, they are central to whether the Coastal Rail Trail can run through Aptos Village as designed.
The piece of land in question is small. According to a September 18 report in TPG Online Daily, it is about 3,452 square feet of parking at 403 Trout Gulch Road. It is the parking in front of Trout Gulch Crossing and the Bayview Hotel.
The parking strip at Trout Gulch Crossing
Segment 12 of the Coastal Rail Trail is planned as a walking and biking path of about 1.25 miles. It would run from State Park Drive to Rio Del Mar Boulevard, straight through Aptos Village. The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, or RTC, plans to build Segments 9, 10 and 11 on top of the railroad tracks. Segment 12 will run next to the tracks instead, and the RTC owns the rail line but not the land beside it. That means the trail needs part of the parking area along the tracks.
That parking sits in front of two properties. One is the Bayview Hotel. The other is Trout Gulch Crossing, home to several local businesses. On October 2, 2023, the RTC filed a "quiet title" lawsuit asking a court to settle the competing ownership claims. The defendants include Laurie Negro and Juan Valledor, former owners of the Trout Gulch property, along with Trout Gulch Crossing, Bayview Hotel owner Cristina Locke and Bayview Hotel in Aptos LLC. Betty 41st LLC, which now owns the Trout Gulch property and is associated with Betty Burgers, was added to the case later.
The RTC's claim goes back to 2012, when it bought the 32-mile Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line from Union Pacific Railroad. The line runs from Watsonville to Davenport. The question is how much of the land under and beside the tracks came with that purchase. Both sides trace their rights to Arano's 1876 deed, so the case depends on what he actually gave the railroad.
Two readings of one deed
Lawyers have two terms for the two possibilities. If the deed transferred "fee simple" ownership, the railroad got the land itself, and the RTC owns the strip outright. If it created an easement, the railroad only got the right to use the land for railroad purposes, and the property owners still own the ground.
Court filings described by TPG Online Daily set out the arguments on each side:
| Question | The RTC's position | Betty 41st's position |
|---|---|---|
| The deed's wording | "All that certain tract of land" and the "heirs, assigns and successors" language describe a transfer of the land itself | Limits on access, on tracks and switches, on structures and on freight storage point to a limited railroad interest |
| What Arano was paid | Not addressed in the coverage | No payment to Arano, which in its view fits an easement better than a sale |
| How the land has been used | Not addressed in the coverage | Customer and tenant parking since at least the 1940s |
| Title insurance records | Records the RTC wants to use at trial | Insurance policies don't prove ownership, the RTC's own policy contains exceptions, and other policies describe an easement |
| The 2020 crossing agreement | Didn't decide ownership or transfer land; released only crossing-related claims by Negro, Valledor and the VN Living Trust | Described the land as belonging to Negro and Valledor and allowed project workers to enter and close the Bayview crossing |
The 2020 agreement dealt with closing the Bayview crossing. Its parties were the RTC, Negro, Valledor, the VN Living Trust, a developer, Swenson Builders and the County Department of Public Works. Part of the current fight is whether that document can be used at trial at all. Judge Syda Kosofsky Cogliati of Santa Cruz County Superior Court was scheduled to hear evidence motions on September 24, and TPG reported the motions were still undecided as of September 14.
The case has been slow mostly because of scheduling. At a June 18 hearing, the court had trouble finding an open courtroom and said trial couldn't begin before July 13. In July, Lookout Santa Cruz reported that trial was set to start September 21 and was expected to last several days. By September 18, TPG Online Daily reported that the trial was on hold and that no trial date had been set.
The money is lined up
Funding isn't what's holding up the trail. In June 2025, the RTC announced a $128.7 million state grant. The agency said it fully funds construction of a package that includes Segment 12, plus Highway 1 auxiliary lanes and bus-on-shoulder lanes from State Park Drive to Freedom Boulevard.
The remaining issue was cash flow, and the RTC dealt with it this summer. Revenue from Measure D, the 30-year sales tax voters approved in 2016, arrives more slowly than construction bills come due. In August, the commission voted unanimously to borrow up to $75 million in bonds this fiscal year. It expects to borrow about $130 million over five years. Staff estimate the State Park Drive to Freedom Boulevard phase, which includes Segment 12, will need $50 million this fiscal year and another $50 million in fiscal year 2027-28. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported a target groundbreaking in fall 2027. Commissioner Fred Keeley pointed to an estimated 4% interest rate on the bonds, compared with material and labor costs he expects to rise faster than that.
The RTC's project page still says construction could start "as soon as 2026." The August reporting, which is more recent, puts the start in fall 2027. The segment's largest structure has followed its own timeline. In 2024, the RTC asked for public input on a 300-foot single-span bridge over Aptos Creek and Soquel Drive, with tied-arch and stress-ribbon designs among the options. That notice put final design in 2025.
So the trail through the village has a funding package, a financing plan and a target date. What it doesn't have yet is a ruling on who owns the parking strip. In June, RTC Executive Director Sarah Christensen told Lookout that the agency wants the case to clarify each party's ownership interest. She said she couldn't predict how a ruling against the RTC would affect delivery of Segment 12, and she expressed confidence in the agency's case.
Meanwhile, the Mar Vista bridge is going up
Not far from the village, another crossing is under construction. This one doesn't depend on a court ruling. The Mar Vista Drive bicycle and pedestrian bridge over Highway 1 belongs to a different phase of the corridor program, the stretch from Bay Avenue/Porter Street to State Park Drive. According to the RTC, the bridge will cut up to 1.6 miles off the trip between the Mar Vista Drive and McGregor Drive area and Mar Vista Elementary. It will also give easier access to Seacliff State Beach, Cabrillo College and the Aptos and Seacliff villages.
The work is affecting overnight driving right now. Caltrans announced lane restrictions starting Sunday, September 27, for about three weeks while crews work in the median:
- Northbound Highway 1: one lane open from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- Southbound Highway 1: one lane open from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Schedule: Sunday night through Friday morning, with construction noise expected
This phase also includes auxiliary lanes, bus-on-shoulder lanes and a replacement Capitola Avenue overcrossing. RTC staff expect it to finish in spring or summer 2027. No specific opening date for the bridge itself has been announced.
The two crossings are part of the same corridor program, but they're on different timelines. Mar Vista is already under construction, with completion expected in 2027. Segment 12 has funding and a target groundbreaking in fall 2027, and its route through the village depends on how a judge reads Arano's deed.
Dates to watch
- Mid-October 2026: The Mar Vista overnight lane restrictions, which began September 27, are scheduled to run about three weeks.
- A new trial date: As of TPG's September 18 report, none had been set, and evidence motions were scheduled for September 24.
- Spring or summer 2027: Expected completion of the Bay/Porter to State Park Drive phase, which includes the Mar Vista bridge.
- Fall 2027: Target groundbreaking for the State Park Drive to Freedom Boulevard phase, which includes Segment 12 through Aptos Village.
Until the court rules, ownership of the parking in front of Trout Gulch Crossing and the Bayview Hotel is still unresolved, and so is the exact route of Segment 12 past it.
If you own a home or business near Trout Gulch Road or along the planned Segment 12 route and want to talk about how the trail could affect your street, Megan DeVivo follows these Aptos projects closely and is happy to go over what's on public record with you. Let's connect.
