The Santa Barbara City Council’s decision to disown a portion of the Ealand Place cul-de-sac has resulted in a $637,000 court settlement for the property owners who sued.

The Finance Committee will discuss funding options for that money at Tuesday’s meeting, since this kind of settlement isn’t covered by the city’s insurance programs.

Council members elected to disown the road because of maintenance costs. Only one house is left in that area off Conejo Road in Sycamore Canyon after all other owners were driven away by the 2008 Tea Fire, landslides or both.

After the Tea Fire destroyed Paula and Ruben Barajas’ house, the couple sued the City of Santa Barbara for the right to rebuild. The Barajases won the suit, which was a separate court case from the Ealand Place lawsuit, and they subsequently bought the parcel across the street from their home.

The city agreed to maintain utilities running to the house, but not the access road itself. Assistant Public Works director Pat Kelly has said that the city already had made a great deal of effort to replace and fix the area’s water lines, which must be above-ground because of the geologically unstable ground.

The court ruled that the city’s abandonment of the road had an impact on the private property rights of two property owners, according to the city.

The $636,546.22 settlement money may be taken out of the Streets Fund, which would require some deferred maintenance for the next year, the general fund reserves, available one-time funds or the city’s $6 million self-insurance fund.

The Finance Committee meets at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at the David Gebhard Public Meeting Room, 630 Garden St.

— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.