Sonoma County faces repair bills from drivers complaining of potholed roads

Some incensed Sonoma County motorists have settled on a way to fight back against the region’s pothole-stricken roadways, by demanding refunds from the county for costly repairs to shredded tires, bent rims and busted struts.

The county’s 1,370-mile network of roads has long been one of the Bay Area’s worst, a target of all-too-common complaints from legions of drivers.

Few, however, have sought compensation from the county for the damage incurred to their vehicles.

Among that small group is Edie Otis, 59, who lives just outside of Sebastopol.

She is seeking county payment of nearly $1,000 in damages she contends were caused in early March by a deep pothole along cracked asphalt north of Guerneville Road on Laguna Road.

The county denied the claim — as it has for all but a dozen of the more than 200 filed since 2013 — citing a lack of prior reports requesting repairs to the area, as well as weather that can wreak seasonal havoc on the expansive network.

Otis questions the basis for rejection.

“I think the county plays this game pretty regularly, where they claim ignorance and then have no responsibility to repay you if they’re not aware of the situation,” said Otis, a real estate agent. “It’s probably one of the more dangerous potholes not to have fixed right away, and then to deny it by saying nobody noticed it before me was pretty frustrating.”

Similar claims involving a growing number of motorists in recent years shed light on a little-known obligation of cities, counties and other public agencies under state law.

They can be held liable for injuries and financial losses when dangerous conditions exist on their property.

Once local governments are informed of a potential problem, they are allowed to resolve such issues on a reasonable timeline, a term that is grounds for much debate, especially when it comes to road repair.

The county invites all those who call in road damage to their cars to file claims, said Janell Crane, who has been with the Sonoma County’s risk management unit for more than 20 years.

Drivers, she said, file financial claims over a variety of situations that cause reported vehicle damage, including overgrown trees and unwieldy construction zones, but the “vast majority” concerning road conditions are from potholes.

The most in a single year, 90, came amid and after the record-breaking winter of 2017-18, with this winter’s wet weather producing the second-highest total, 44 as of mid-May — still nearly three times the number filed in fiscal year 2013-14.

Since that time, only 12 of the 245 claims have been paid out, equating to overall reimbursement spending of less than $8,000, according to county records.

Crane said the county investigates each claim. She declined to discuss individual cases, citing the potential for active claims to progress into a lawsuit.

“You really have to look at the specific facts of each case to determine whether or not it’s appropriate to pay the claim,” said Crane, the division’s acting risk manager. “We really look at a case on a case-by-case basis, and if we had noticed and didn’t make the repair reasonably, we want to pay the claim for the claimant.”

Ground zero for road damage in the region is west county, with the largest share of the rural network — 540 miles — and some of the most severe problems, including teeth-chattering former farm roads and key byways undermined by storm runoff.

Supervisor Lynda Hopkins said the issues stem from past spending decisions and limited current funds.

“They have been significantly underinvested in over the decades, which has resulted in deteriorated road conditions that we are fighting hard to counteract,” she said.

Since 2014, Sonoma County has spent $57 million from its general fund as part of a total $76 million to repair and repave 330 miles of roads. Another $36 million will go toward fixing an additional 51 miles through 2021.

“We certainly keep road crews busy with pothole requests,” Hopkins said. “Among top constituent complaints, No. 1 is definitely roads.”

But the maintenance backlog still stands at more than $1.4 billion, and some potholes are causing recurrent damage for motorists, turning up on multiple claims from different drivers, only to result in a denial from the county.

Joseph Soldis, 52, a former Sebastpol cop-turned-private-investigator, said he incurred more than $1,700 in damage to his new Mercedes on March 1 en route to San Francisco International Airport.

The Santa Rosa resident said he hit the same pothole as Otis, on Laguna Road at Vine Hill School Road, in Hopkins’s district. Like Otis’ claim, his was rejected. Soldis received what he called the county’s “form letter” notifying him of the decision.