National Eminent Domain Blog : Eminent Domain Lawyer & Attorney : Ackerman Ackerman & Dynkowski : Michigan and Washington, DC

Herald Palladium    Todd said the airport has been negotiating with the fruit market since 2002.  "We're supposed to give landowners fair market value. Neither party is
supposed to come out ahead, because this is taxpayers' money," he said. "We
know we're going to impact them, so the offer was based not just on market
value but on how losing the five acres would impact them."

It is amazing that the Airport Commission agent blames it all on 'greed' and
'taxpayer dollars' when maybe; just maybe, the owner wants to be made whole.
Did the authority think about the effect of what was taken on the remainder
or the compensable business damages?  Likely not. 
And as for 'negotiating' since 2002, did the Airport Authority PR man notify
the paper that the Airport Commission had the choice of time as to when it
would take the property?  Likely not.  

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Highline Times

James and Doris Cassan have operated Park and Fly since the 1960s, slowly purchasing more and more of the property that they originally leased for the business and gradually expanding until they employed more than 40 people.

Now, SeaTac intends to take Park and Fly by eminent domain. The City claims it needs to turn the private parking business into a government-run parking garage, but other evidence suggests the City has considered reselling some of the property to private developers as part of a scheme to turn the area adjacent to the airport into an “entertainment district.”

Trent England, Citizenship and Governance Center Director at the EvergreenFreedom Foundation, says SeaTac’s actions are abusive.

The aggrandizement of airports is sometimes just too much!  Here we are, thinking closer to the airport lends to an increase in value.  To the contrary, nothing good results!  Private ownership is deemed to be subservient to the unreasonable demands of the airport authority.

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Highline Times

Cutts told lawmakers the city's station area plan could generate an additional $2.1 million a year in city revenue and create more than 2,700 jobs.

The city plans include a 1,000-space public parking garage on the Cassan property.

In his testimony, Cassan sought to counter claims that the Cassans are risk adverse and lack development experience.

"We are not risk adverse. But we are not imprudent," Cassan said. "Where have the Staff been while Washington Mutual collapsed? While Wall Street imploded? And while the ability of developers to obtain capital and loans have gone into deep-freeze?"

Cassan added that that he and his wife put together a Mercer Island mixed-use development that won an award as best mid-rise development of the year.

Deputy Mayor Gene Fisher said he was conflicted about his vote but he wanted to arm the staff with the necessary tools to go forward with economic development.

Councilman Tony Anderson was the only lawmaker to vote against the condemnation. Councilwoman Terry Anderson was absent.

Tony Anderson urged the council to delay action until after the November general election when "the face of the council will become more clear." 

What a surprise!  The Airport Authority knows more about what an owner should do with a property than the owner. Sea Tac is in for a real experience on highest and best use and the notion of private land use, even around an airport facility

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Hunterdown County Democrat

At last night's committee meeting, Don Baldwin asked, "When is enough, enough?" He said officials have "squandered literally millions of dollars" in legal fees in the battle with the Sol bergs. "When is the bleeding going to stop? When will the committee reduce its losses -- or more correctly our losses... When will fiscal sanity be restored?"

The comments are in the wake of last month's opinion from the Superior Court Appellate Division about the township's efforts to condemn and acquire the land surrounding Solberg Airport and acquire development rights to the airport itself. The opinion reverses that of a trial judge and says that only a trial can resolve the issues in the dispute.

The court also sided with the Solbergs over its dispute with the township over property taxes. It overturned a previous court decision to allow the township to withdraw money from a trust fund to pay taxes it said were owed on the property after the date it acted to take the property. "Solberg had no responsibility for the taxes," the court wrote.

But at this week's meeting, the Township Committee voted to ratify is decision to appeal the case to the state Supreme Court. Because the three-judge Appellate opinion was unanimous, the Supreme Court is not required to accept the case for review.

When local governments lose condemnation actions because they do not have the statutory authority to take, the first thing they do is yell, “Appeal,” as if some golden wand will finally give them the authority they know they do not have.  That is where the community is going with the Solberg Airport eminent domain proceeding. 

This case sounds like the attempted acquisition of the Grosse Ile Bridge between Grosse Ile Township and Riverview in Michigan.  The Township, by multiples, added to the expense by forcing the issue through a Supreme Court decision, losing every step of the way.

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Post Trib

School officials were waiting for their attorneys to review the decision.

"(The resolution) is an option they have threatened to exercise in the past," said School Board President Nellie Moore. "If that's what they choose to do instead of a more amicable resolution, then I have no problem with that."

School district attorney Ragen Hatcher was less diplomatic.

"I would think they would've at least invited a representative from the school district to the meeting," Hatcher said of the Board of Works decision.

According to the city's resolution, the impasse comes after three years of "extraordinary good faith efforts" by the city and the airport to reach a deal with the schools.

"The action avoids any more delays to the timetable for the (runway) expansion," Curry said, "and now a court of law will determine the appropriate value of the land."

Why would a school system expect any different treatment than any other owner?  Governments rarely truly provide notice to the owners of property when it decides to utilize the eminent domain process.  However, the process in most States does require some attempt to negotiate prior to the filing of a condemnation complaint.  Indiana, where this taking is to occur, has a process.

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 Gary Post Tribune

But the School Board -- facing a fiscal deficit -- wants $3.75 million for the land. That's terribly unrealistic, even if the schools would choose to preserve the land and include it in its curriculum.

The School Board now is taking the insanity to a new level by spending $30,000 on an appraisal. It would appear the School Board knows acquisition of the land is vital is the Airport Authority, and as a result is demanding an outrageous price.

Litigating the matter isn't the answer. That will be the case if the two sides can't agree and the city proceeds with eminent domain, as it threatened last week.

We hope Mayor Rudy Clay steps in, brings the two sides to the table and issues the following mandate: Don't leave the room until you have settled the matter.

What is good for the airport is good for the city of Gary, including the schools. The airport remains the city's greatest hope for the future. Further delays would be unconscionable.

Often, we need to have the judicial system intervene on behalf of two behemoths, such as a city and an airport.  The Gary, Indiana situation above is not an exception.  The dispute involved federal funds to acquire land versus individual community vested tax dollars.  In the case of education funding, the tax dollars are usually derived from real estate assessments.  The Gary newspaper is simply way off base!

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NECN

Some residents of Warwick, Rhode Island have begun the fight against a runway expansion plan at the state's largest airport, T.F. Green.

Federal officials have endorsed a plan to extend the main runway at T.F. Green Airport by 1,500 feet.

A runway extension would accommodate jets with larger fuel loads -- such as those making nonstop flights to the West Coast and Europe.

But the expansion would come at the expense of 11 homes, 10 businesses and athletic fields, which would be demolished in order to obtain the necessary space for a longer runway.

Other property owners living close to the expansion could elect to sell their land under a voluntary program.

Airport officials have tried to expand T.F. Green's runway for a decade but met resistance from local residents who could lose their homes.

The airport intends to buy the land necessary for its expansion in private deals with owners, but it could ultimately use eminent domain laws to take the land and compensate the owners.

This is serious business.  Airport takings are like few others.  The impact of past activity is relevant to the existing values.  The diminutions created by the existing runway must be appropriately dealt with in this Rhode Island eminent domain proceeding.

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Herald Palladium

BENTON HARBOR - People who own property just east of the Southwest Michigan Regional Airport have until June 26 to accept a one-time offer of $5,350 for air space above their land or risk a lesser price later.

The price could be higher in a few cases through eminent domain, but in most it likely would be considerably less, he said. The easements are needed to meet height requirements for planes that will take off from the expanded runway once it is built.

He said the $5,350 offer to each of the 160 property owners involved is based on a market analysis and typical easement value. The easements allow airport workers - at the convenience of the landowner - to go on the property to trim or cut down trees as needed. The lifetime easement goes with the property if the property is sold.

Scherwitz said all property owners in the easement area were notified by mail about the airport's need to buy air space and were invited to a meeting earlier this week. He said about 50 of the 160 property owners in an area east of North Pike Street already have taken the offer and gotten a $500 down payment. The balance will be paid in about six weeks, Scherwitz said.

Scherwitz said the voluntary easement program saves the airport money because it eliminates the need for individual appraisals, while offering a fair price to owners, he said.

"We'll work with the homeowners. We wanted the voluntary offer to be attractive to people so it would reduce our paperwork. Some have asked us to please remove whole trees," he said. "We also will provide homeowners with a list of trees that, if they want to replant, won't grow very high but will provide shade. We're not pressuring anybody. We're here to answer questions. I'm the rumor buster. We want people to have good information."

The notion of the universal “voluntary offer” does not fulfill the requirement that properties are individually analyzed. However, under Michigan law the process saves the condemner the unnecessary costs of attorney fees and appraisal costs for itself and additional reimbursements to the owner.

There are some substantial issues raised in what are considered 'small' airport easement acquisitions. What are the increased noise and other environment nuisance factors? What are the damages for the loss of the height limitations? What is appropriate just compensation?

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StlToday.com

Spirit of St. Louis Airport soon will start buying 345 acres that it uses but does not own.

The airport has received a $1.458 million federal grant for the first year of a three-year project to buy out the land owners. John Bales, the county's director of aviation, said the airport hoped to buy 100 acres this year, but the precise acreage won't be known until appraisals and negotiations are completed. Bales said that eminent domain will not be part of the process.

The purchases would start with critical parcels — those under runways, taxiways and key buildings, he said.

The county, the Federal Aviation Administration and state transportation officials agree that Spirit would avoid a financial crunch if it bought the parcels now rather than wait until leases are close to expiring, Bales said.

Haglin & Co., the private company that opened the 1,250-acre airport in 1964, obtained the ground in 1961 through 99-year leases, mainly from farmers.

The county, which bought the airport in 1980, pays a total of nearly $44,443 a year to the leaseholder

The County Council last week approved the hiring of O.R. Colan Associates of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as a consultant to handle the purchases in all three years of the project. Colan will be paid $234,000 over the three years to take care of appraisals, title searches, land and environmental surveys and negotiations with the property owners.

The condemnation of land leases is not quite so simple. The leases were initiated when the airport desired the revenue from private parties (all to the detriment of potential competitors in the marketplace) after expropriation from private owners. Now after having the benefit of the income on land taken by eminent domain it will condemn the leases.

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The Morning Call

The authority that runs Lehigh Valley International Airport now owes more than $24 million for 632 acres it took more than a decade ago from a developer that planned to build homes and a golf course, a Lehigh County judge has ruled.

A jury in March decided that the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority owed WBF Associates $10.4 million for gobbling up the land in 1996. The airport has made only one payment to the company -- $3.15 million on Nov. 2, 2000, according to court records.

So, Judge Carol K. McGinley this month ordered the authority to pay additional delay damages and mortgage interest totaling $16.3 million.

It doesn't stop there. Interest continues to accrue on the award each day until it's paid off. According to McGinley's order, the interest on the money owed for the mortgage is $1,463 per day...

It is amazing that the owner has the fortitude to wait over a decade to get paid. The process of delay can be utilized by a governmental agency to 'wear the owner down', a process completely compromising the constitutional requirement that Just Compensation is to be paid upon the taking of property.

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Detroit News

Detroit Metropolitan Airport is expected to end a bitter battle with Romulus leaders by shelving plans for a controversial fifth parallel runway the city claimed would displace 3,500 residents, close two elementary schools and wipe out nearly 50 businesses.

Both sides expect the agreement to shift the multimillion-dollar runway concept from the airport's original master plan to one they can revisit if growth warrants. The agreement will be voted on Thursday when the Airport Authority Board is expected to meet, according to Taylor Mayor Cameron Priebe, one of five city leaders involved in the project. ...

-This should not come as a surprise.  Airport traffic is down dramatically.  A fifth runway at Detroit Wayne County Metro Airport would have put the airport a step ahead.  However, what would it be a 'step ahead' of?  The demand for flights has dwindled, so why threaten condemnation with a proposed eminent domain project?

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Detroit News

The board overseeing the Detroit Metropolitan Airport postponed a decision Thursday on a $3.6 billion, 20-year master plan that includes the construction of a controversial runway.

As they did at the first postponement, in March, people packed the Westin Hotel awaiting the decision. The Wayne County Airport Authority board said the postponement will allow it to work with community leaders. The members are expected to take up the issue again July 24.

Many residents oppose the master plan -- especially the proposed addition of a fifth parallel runway. The proposal also includes passenger monorail and terminal expansions. Romulus officials said the runway at Eureka and Middle Belt would decimate the community, displace as many as 3,500 residents -- about 15 percent of the population -- and wipe out $114 million in tax revenues.

The 10,000-foot runway would be necessary by 2020, airport officials countered. Airport spokesman Mike Conway said the master plan is simply a guide the airport needs to give to the Federal Aviation Administration.

-The Wayne County Airport Authority did the smart thing. It delayed a project open to public ridicule until there is some certainty in the factual basis for the necessity of the project.
The need for the project is less certain given the economic issues at hand in the United States, the uncertainty of continually increasing air travel due to gas and security issues, and the uncertain status of a Northwest merger.

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Airport Business, December 27, 2007

Faced with the possibility of losing state money for land acquisition at the airport, the Oceana County Board has approved a resolution authorizing the acquisition by Eminent Domain if necessary.

A local consultant, in airport acquisitions, commented that cases usually settle through negotiation.

While airport development always sounds attractive, one has to wonder whether, on a purely cost and benefit basis, this project makes sense. There are a number of decent airports within a half hour drive.

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Post-Tribune, August 5, 2007

Northwest Indiana is a prime piece of the national shipping puzzle.

A 3,000 acre parcel in LaPorte County is the potential site future site for a huge transportation hub.  The site is close to nearly all major interstates in Northwest Indiana.  

If the property owners of the tract do not respond soon to offers, eminent domain maybe used to kick them off their property.  Governments have the power to force private property owners to sell their land for the public use or for private use where there's a substantial public benefit.

-The location is a prime example of the highest and best use assembled by the government.  There is a reasonable argument that maintains that the government is the only source to assemble, but there is also an argument that part of the special value of the location should be for the benefit of the owners.

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Frederick News Post, August 2, 2007

The city of Frederick is pursuing the use of condemnation of a local farm so it can expand the airport.  

The city council voted unanimously to take the farm property.

According to city documents the farm has been appraised for $2.8 million.

The city council believes firmly that it is the right step to take the property.

-This article presents an underlying theme in condemning authorities that simply if you assess, especially a low assessment, that is the fair market value for the property.

Airport takings frequently offer issues of what is the correct highest and best use for the property.

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NWI.com, July 13, 2007

The Gary/Chicago International Airport approved making a $1.6 million court deposit to secure a key stretch of land west of the main runway.  

The deposit is part of condemnation proceedings the airport initiated last year.

The authority board also approved paying the moving costs of a business located there and clean up costs. 

-Gary/Chicago International Airport will be a key foundation of redevelopment in the area. However, this is not to be a building block for one to the detriment of only the owners. Airport acquisitions are always specific and far more complicated than what first meets the eye. 

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NWA Online, June 21, 2007

Airport commissioners recommended Tuesday the City Council begin condemnation proceedings against a property owner near the Springdale Municipal Airport. 

Buying the land will allow the airport to clear trees on the property that are both an obstruction to aircraft and a hazard because of the birds they gather.

-There is a great advantage to property ownership near an airport. The proximity to air traffic and a decent road system may dramatically increase the value of the property. However, when one is near an airport, one suffers the grave risk of being taken by the next airport expansion.

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