Eminent Domain Lawyer & Attorney : Ackerman Ackerman & Dynkowski : Michigan, Ohio, Illinois

Jacksonville Business Journal

The Jacksonville Port Authority probably will pass on acquiring 70 acres at the north end of Talleyrand Avenue by eminent domain, deterred by the $67.4 million price.

Having won a court ruling in December 2006 that the authority could take the property, it had not committed to doing so until the price was settled. Now it knows that price is more than four times what the authority offered before filing for condemnation.

A jury decided May 2 the authority would have to pay $67.4 million to fully compensate Keystone Coal Co. for its industrial riverfront property. The verdict followed a two-week valuation trial that was the culmination of a two-and-a-half-year process the authority had followed to acquire the land for expansion.

"It would be hard to justify purchasing the property for that amount," Authority Executive Director Rick Ferrin said. "I don't know of any maritime use that would generate a return on investment that would justify such a price."

This is eminent domain at its worst. The government attempts to take from one owner simply to transfer to a preferred developer from China! Only in America could a state rule allow dismissal of the taking because it was more than the buyer wanted to pay!

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The Peoples Voice, April 25, 2008

We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over.” - Ambrose Bierce

Are you sick and tired of being at the mercy of the grasping plutocrats who run Big Oil? Gasoline is now selling at $3.50 a gallon, as the price of a barrel of oil nears $120, with no end in sight to further increases. Meanwhile, the American economy is sinking faster than the Titanic. The dollar, too, is in sharp decline. Mortgage foreclosures are at depression era highs. Over three million middle class jobs have been exported in recent years. The Wall Street wise guys are in near-panic mode. The Fed, after 19 years of Alan Greenspan’s gross ineptness, is held in deep contempt. Yet, Big Oil keeps sucking off the American consumer, with a devil-be-damned attitude, while acting like a law unto itself… read more

Now if we can only nationalize everything, avoid all competition, then have nothing left for us to work for. Nationalization of the oil companies (a slight expense) would assure us of no development or improvements in the oil distribution system, and likely delay our attempts to look to alternative fuel.

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The Indy Channel, April 20, 2008

Speedway is a step closer to making big changes near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway despite the efforts of some residents to derail the project.

Some people are upset that the Speed Zone development plan would force them off their properties.

"The unfortunate thing is that the plan that they have put together basically is a steamroller," said Danny Williams, owner of Pit Stop Liquor.
Supporters of Speed Zone said it would make the area around the speedway a more desirable destination.

"I think that the changes that we're proposing will revitalize this area," said Scott Harris, who is on the redevelopment commission.
The commission on Monday voted in favor of acquiring about 40 pieces of property to move forward with the project.

The commission will get appraisals on properties and begin negotiations with owners. If needed, officials said the town can use eminent domain to take the properties.

-Owners have built at section lines (mile roads) fully expecting a ninety degree\right angle at their property corner. Roundabouts give the historical expectation no respect. Owners get hurt, and their only recourse is Just Compensation because roundabouts are considered a public use.

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www.springfieldnewssun.com, 03/28/2008

The City of Springfield has the right use eminent domain to acquire Robinson Insulation, Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Carey ruled Friday, March 28.

The property owners, Garth and Jennifer Robinson, had challenged the city's right to take their property, which would be razed to make room for Community Mercy Health Partner's new downtown hospital complex slated to open in 2012.

In his ruling, Carey assigned April 28 for a jury trial to determine the amount of compensation the Robinsons will receive for the property located on Baltimore Place, and Cliff, Plum and Cedar streets.
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-There is always a challenge in the determination of what is a public use. Hospitals have frequently been non-profit or publicly owned. Therefore, when a taking for a hospital expansion is considered a public use it should not be considered a surprising result.

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The Star Press, March 17, 2008

The state hopes to raise the bypass over McGalliard Road, building entrance and exit ramps, according to INDOT spokesman Harry Maginity.

In an unrelated development, INDOT also announced it would resume plans to build an overpass that would carry Centennial Avenue over the bypass. Centennial's intersection with the bypass was the site of a fatal accident in 2007, two fatal accidents in 2002 and several other accidents in recent years that left motorists with serious injuries.

Currently, the McGalliard-Bypass intersection is serviced by a four-way traffic signal.
INDOT spokesman Harry Maginity said the proposed interchange would be safer and better suited to the original purpose of having a bypass.

To complete such a project, the state would have to acquire additional right-of-way, displacing some property holders in the area, which includes several businesses.

Construction at McGalliard Road would begin in 2010 and cost around $22 million, according to the INDOT Web site.

-As States sell off infrastructure, from water works to toll roads, they now have funds to initiate other transportation improvements from other than road taxes.

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WASHINGTON (AP), March 6, 2008

New power line construction is more likely in the Mid-Atlantic States and the Southwest after the government on Thursday said it was pushing ahead with a plan to expand and modernize the electric grid in those areas.

The U.S. Department of Energy formally denied requests for a rehearing of a previous decision making it easier to build power lines in the designated areas, saying challenges by those who oppose new line construction were meritless.

The Energy Department has designated two "National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors" over the objections of many local and state officials.

The federal government's mid-Atlantic power corridor runs from Virginia and Washington, D.C., north to include most of Maryland, all of New Jersey and Delaware and large sections of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The Southwest corridor consists of seven counties in Southern California and three in Arizona.
In deciding to go forward with the two corridors, the department issued a statement Thursday saying the findings of energy congestion in the areas "are well-founded and based on data and studies."
In that event, a failure on transmission lines in Ohio set off a chain reaction that knocked the Canadian province of Ontario off the power grid, along with parts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

If state authorities do not approve any construction after a year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, may intervene and approve a grid project if the new line is deemed necessary to satisfy national power needs. Such approvals could, in theory, include the use of eminent domain law to compel private owners to sell their property.

-The US government now views electric capacity as a federal rather than State issue. As such, it is strenuously pursuing a course of developing major corridors for future utility utilization of gas and electric transmission lines.

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MPSC- Michigan Case No. U-14861, February 28, 2008

The MPSC issued an order denying a request by Hartland Township and several area homeowners for a rehearing in a case involving the construction of an overhead transmission line in Livingston and Oakland counties by ITC Transmission.

-An Opinion and Press Release, found under the MPSC filing, rejected the Hartland Township and owners’ challenge to the project. This is the final part of the proceeding with offers and the filing of the condemnation complaints for major transmission lines, which will destroy the aesthetic attractiveness to a number of communities in Livingston and Oakland Counties.

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-New Jersey has a much-maligned rule that it can designate an area as blighted and ready for development. Under the rule, those individuals in the area must challenge within forty-five days or they forever waive their rights to challenge the condemnation. In Harrison, the City waited six years to designate specific properties. This raises substantial due process issues. To date, owners have been unsuccessful in their challenges to the New Jersey procedure, at least in State court.

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Rapid City Journal, February 13, 2008

The South Dakota Senate has approved a measure intended to speed up state hearings on the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad's application to acquire land by condemnation for its $6 billion expansion project.

An opponent said the bill could hurt landowners who believe DM&E is not treating them fairly, but the Senate sent the measure to the House on a 20-13 vote.

The bill's main sponsor, Sen. Tom Hansen, R-Huron, said DM&E applied more than a year ago for state approval to use eminent domain to acquire land for a right of way from people who are unwilling to sell. Opponents have used delaying tactics to prevent a state hearing, he said.

"The time has come to let the process move forward," Hansen said.

"Their concern was not to stop the railroad. Their concern was to get a decent price for what the railroad was taking," Lintz said.

DM&E wants to rebuild 600 miles of existing track across South Dakota and Minnesota and add 260 miles of new track around the southern end of the Black Hills to reach coal fields in Wyoming. The Powder river Basin project would haul low-sulfur coal eastward to power plants.

The state Transportation Commission has sought to hold a hearing on DM&E's application for authority to use eminent domain, but that hearing has been delayed after some hearing examiners were removed by both sides. Another delay was caused by a court order that required the commission to pass new rules for handling such cases.

-This article describes the issues in the DM&E Railroad acquisition process.

Here, we have not only a national railway but also a railway owned by a foreign railroad company.

The issues of equal protection, state's rights, interstate commerce and the state's interest in protecting individual rights of its owners all provide a conflict, which has created torturous litigation and a hostile community in a question over what controls the state has on a transportation process within a state.

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The City of NY runs to its own clock. The use of mass transit creates an economy is which a central part of the transportation scheme is to have the most dense uses near the subway stops, with the heaviest uses, such as arenas and high rises near stations where possible. This is a basic part of the planning process in NY, DC, Boston and other communities with viable mass transit. Sorry Detroit, not quite a reason for condemnation.

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The News Dispatch, January 19, 2008

MICHIGAN CITY - An obstacle in the city's plans to redevelop the North End could become moot soon after a lawsuit was filed to condemn two properties near Michigan Boulevard and Eighth Street.

Michigan City Redevelopment Commission Attorney Michael Bergerson said Friday he'd filed the suit last week in La Porte Superior Court 3.

The city wants condemned the Weber Sign property, 730 E. Eighth St., and property known as "the ice house," owned by Thomas and Florence Sobkowiak, 748 Michigan Blvd.

The city has tried for more than two years to purchase the properties - two of only three holdouts remaining in a string of properties needed for North End redevelopment.

Owners of Blocksom, a factory complex near Michigan Boulevard and Fifth Street, are in discussions with the city for an anticipated sale and relocation of the facility.

The Webers and Sobkowiaks, however, have refused to budge, as has the city. Bergerson's request for an eminent domain judgment, he said, is the last step in an arduous process.

The city is offering the Webers and Sobkowiaks $1 each for their properties. Bergerson said the offer is fair - in the eyes of the court - because the land under both properties is "highly contaminated."

"We can't pay for property that's also contaminated beyond its value," he said. "They can't sell it and they're living in a dream world if they think the taxpayers of Michigan City want to pay for a property and pay to clean it up."

Glenn Kuchel, the Hammond attorney representing Bill and Kathy Weber, the owners of Weber Sign, said Friday the offer of $1 isn't fair.

If condemnation is granted, an appraiser will settle on values for both properties and offer that amount to the owners. If the owners object to the price, the city will issue a deed and take the properties, but will still debate price with the owners.

-In reading the article and the claim of a “$1” value, one has to wonder whether the community fully understands the choices an owner has even with contaminated property. This is a court filing which was “rushed to judgment,” by the writer of the article, premised on comments of the community. Without question, the writer was not fairly notified of the owners' rights in this particular factual setting.

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Ann Arbor News, January 18, 2008

A major grocery store topped by a spacious public library is the centerpiece of a vision for downtown Belleville unveiled at a special meeting Wednesday.

At a joint meeting of the Belleville City Council and Downtown Development Authority started at City Hall, Rick Walker of Walker Developments, based in Montreal, said a national grocery store chain was interested in building downtown.

"(The grocery store) would be an economic boost and a reason for people to stop in Belleville,'' said Rosemary Loria, chairwoman of the DDA.

In addition to the grocery store, Walker Developments would build about 30,000 square feet of retail space on Main Street between Fifth Street and what is now Fourth Street. Housing and office space would be built above the retail.

The new construction would eliminate several buildings, including Chase Bank on the corner of Roys and Main streets. Loria said the bank would rebuild a smaller bank next to the new construction.

The DDA would buy the property for the municipal lots, but would not do so through eminent domain, Loria said. The DDA would have to borrow money for the parking lot projects. It already plans to borrow about $5.5 million for a major reconstruction of Main Street that is planned to start this summer and may have to borrow up to $5 million more for the parking and other aspects of the redevelopment project, Loria said.

-This is an example of what protections offered by the recent Michigan constitutional amendment were intended to do. That is to protect owners' rights to property and allow the market to determine value for property rather than the an uncertain court process forcing owners to accept a government offer.

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WYTV, January 16, 2008

Township officials say developers have already bought the land at the old Ramada Inn on Belmont Avenue for an unspecified project that may bring in major retailers.

Now all they need to get the deal through is this fifty foot strip of land, where developers want to put in a stop light. The only problem is the owners do not want to give up that piece of land, saying they're afraid the project might decrease the property value.

But township officials say the project is too important for Liberty to give up on. Pat Ungaro, Liberty Twp. Administrator says a compromise between the developer and the owner is close to being made, but if it's not worked out, the township is prepared to use eminent domain to push the project through.

-The safety needs of a community will outweigh the individual detriment to an owner. However, the future taking should not bar the owner from being fairly treated.

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An Aqua Indiana customer on Windsor Road, Steger bought a water softener and replaced a dishwasher and garbage disposal because of the harshness of his water, he said.

But the somewhat graphic description of his water’s color is the most telling.

“I would take showers and the water would turn the gray hairs on my chest red,” he said.

But people like Steger – who complain about the company’s water service – are becoming rarer, at least according to the number of complaints received by the private utility. In fact, complaints about water color, poor pressure and other service problems dropped by a third on average from 2004 through 2006, when compared with the previous three years.

One of the city’s main reasons to take over the private northern system was to provide better water.

The city started an eminent domain action in 2002 to acquire the northern system. Last summer, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in a 3-2 vote that the city can take the utility through eminent domain. Aqua Indiana is challenging the city’s $16.9 million appraisal of its assets, but has not yet publicly offered what it believes is a fair price.

Steger, 68, bought his home on Windsor with the promise his home was on City Utilities. Upon discovering the water was from Aqua Indiana, he installed a water softener for $500, which he said was necessary to make the water potable. Even with the softener, he said the water still comes out red or black at times. He said he pays about $18 a month for salt for the softener.

Even if the cost of acquiring the private utility comes in more expensive for the city, Steger said he would be willing to pay a premium to relieve himself of the hassles.

“I don’t mind paying for a quality product,” he said.

-This article serves as a harsh repudiation of the water company’s fair rights. Given that the case is to be tried by a jury of peers in the community, when the community offers phone numbers to call for “complaints,” one wonders how fairly the water company can be treated in this situation.

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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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Times Ledger, November 23, 2007

Former Borough President Claire Shulman continued her cross-borough tour in support of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Willets Point redevelopment plan Monday night, telling the Queens Civic Congress she expects a legal battle to take place, but does not believe eminent domain will be used by the city.

The city's plan is expected to start the six-month-long public approval process as soon as February, and Shulman said a developer could be selected as early as next fall. The project remains fraught with obstacles, however, including the need for an extensive environmental cleanup, millions in infrastructure costs and, most pressingly, the 1,300 workers and 250 businesses which will need to be moved.

Shulman said the legitimate businesses at Willets Point deserve fair negotiations with the city, but stopped short of saying they deserve to stay on the 60-acre site.

She said she believes the city has firm legal standing and should not take eminent domain off the table, but does not think the controversial practice will be used when all is said and done.

"Eminent domain is a bottom line and I don't believe it will ever be used" she said. "But it's not in [the business owners'] best interest to wait for eminent domain."

-All too frequently, retired elected officials jump at the opportunity to promote eminent domain actions. Somehow, officials feel that their name becomes good when attached to a successful private taking project such as Willets Point. It is hard to imagine that the former president would know whether owners are better or worse off to await the condemnation.

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Tri Cities, November 27, 2007

BRISTOL, Va. – Despite a recent favorable court ruling, city leaders may opt to abandon the controversial Mendota Trail project.

The proposed hiking and biking trail from the city limits to the Scott County, Va., line has already cost the city more than $600,000, City Manager Bill Dennison said. The council is expected discuss the stalled project at its next meeting.

"An item is on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting," Dennison said. "It’s a terribly convoluted, complicated, very expensive proposition. Continuing a project, with no end to the expenses in sight, doesn’t seem very prudent to me."

In the nearly seven years since, the city has invested about $635,000 to acquire the land and in legal and engineering fees, amid a six-year legal battle with property owners along the proposed route.

After a number of landowners tried to claim ownership in 2001, the city sued all 180 people with potential claims. Less than 20 are still engaged in the lawsuit, which has not yet gone to trial.

One solution could involve asking the Washington County Board of Supervisors to condemn the property, Mayor Jim Rector said, adding he didn’t know if county leaders would cooperate.

Any decision also needs to include an estimate of the cost of completing the trail, Rector said.

"A half-million dollars will not touch what needs to be done to that trail and that doesn’t include annual maintenance," Dennison said.

The city previously estimated trail construction could cost up to $1 million.

Establishing a trail would involve clearing the land, removing buildings, fences and other obstructions, building bridges, replacing at least one trestle damaged by fire and pouring the base material, Dennison said.

-Sometimes, communities realize in time that they should withdraw from projects rather than obstinately pressing forward without a full analysis of the costs and benefits. Substantial title problems on ownership of property and uncertain expenses can lead to unanticipated obstacles.

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thetimesherald.com, November 20,2007

Mike Connell recently posed a Q and A in his article to address, in his opinion, possible issues with the Blue Water Bridge expansion. However some of the questions and answers are flawed. For example, Mr. Connell quotes the MDOT as stating that owners are better off selling the property because they obtain 125% of their own value. The problem is that the offer may be far less than 100% of the value. The 125% applies to the total amount paid, whether by settlement or trial or a simple deed. Mr. Connell forgets the rights of individual owners can be protected.

The intent of the article is to show that the government will take the property, and the owners have no rights to challenge the amounts.  Further it appears from the article owners should simply succumb to the governmental desires.  This is simply wrong!

There is no question about public use for the International Bridge, nor is there a question that we must secure our borders. However, there is still the requirement of "just compensation" in both the Michigan and United States Constitution.

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The Monroe News recently published a very informative article on what to do when you are faced with eminent domain.

If you're approached by an oil company, gas company, or any other utility, eminent domain attorney Alan Ackerman says there are a few things you can do to ensure you're treated fairly.

Mr. Ackerman first suggested retaining a lawyer or at least consulting with one throughout the process. In most cases, he said, the entity attempting to obtain land or get easements will be responsible for homeowners' legal fees under Michigan law.

However, those who shy from attorneys also have options:

• Keep quiet, get the offer in writing and figure out what the basis for the offer is. Keeping quiet at this stage is important, said Mr. Ackerman, since whatever you say can be used later.

• Figure out exactly where the pipeline, wires, etc., are being installed. How will this affect the property next year? In 20 years? Does it destroy the farm tiles?

• Make sure you know what your local government mandates.

• Get everything in writing, make sure you can understand it and make sure it's specific. Do not sign anything until you have read it thoroughly and understand it.

• Keep the property well maintained.

• Keep in mind the people who come to negotiate the use of your property are professionals at this.

• Get an independent assessment.

• Get exact definitions.

• Beware of the tactics.

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Washington Post, November 23, 2007

Maryland highway officials and the philanthropic Eugene B. Casey Foundation are battling in court over the state's decision to seize 405 acres of the foundation's land for the intercounty connector, even though the land is seven miles from the highway's planned route.

The state has taken the wooded, rolling hills in Boyds, and has offered to pay the foundation $3.44 million, to replace some of the parkland and mature forests that will be bulldozed to build the six-lane toll highway between Gaithersburg and Laurel. The Montgomery County parcel is part of the Maryland State Highway Administration's "environmental mitigation" plan, which received federal approval.

Environmentalists say the Casey land is too far away to help the wildlife in the more than 900 acres of forests, wetlands and parkland that the 18.8-mile highway will destroy. The bigger issue: The foundation, its attorney said, doesn't want to sell and thinks the state has no right to the property.

The Casey Foundation is one of the Washington area's largest philanthropic organizations, with a net worth of $166 million, according to its 2005 federal tax filing. Eugene B. Casey, who died in 1986, was a developer and one of upper Montgomery's largest land owners. Betty B. Casey, 80, his widow, lives in Potomac, according to voter records.

The state took ownership of the foundation's property in May, after the trustees declined to negotiate a fair market price, said Melinda Peters, the intercounty connector's project director. Upon seizing the land, the state deposited its purchase offer of $3.44 million with the Montgomery Circuit Court and filed a condemnation case against Betty Casey and other trustees. A judge is expected to rule in spring on whether the state has the right to seize the land.

If the state wins the court case, the land would be turned over to the county's park system. But, Park said, the foundation might then appeal because Maryland has no case law on the state's rights to seize land far outside a project's right of way.

Full construction on the highway began last week, after a federal judge in Greenbelt rejected two lawsuits that alleged that the project violates federal environmental laws. The intercounty connector, estimated to cost $2.4 billion, is scheduled to fully open by 2012.

A ruling on the extent of the state's eminent domain powers could have far-reaching ramifications. Such "environmental mitigation" packages to replace wetlands, forests and other habitat have become commonplace, particularly on large, controversial projects.

However, as development grows denser near projects, highway officials said, they have had to find replacement land farther away. As part of rebuilding the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, for example, regional highway officials created or preserved 100 acres of wetlands in Stafford County and planted river grasses at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to replace those lost to the larger bridge.

-This article deals with the issue of true intent in a taking by an acquiring agency.  Is the intent of the acquiring agency to find the easiest way out of a required mitigation project?  The acquiring agency may totally fail to repair the harm of a project or simply mitigate this situation by replacing the acquisition with something available elsewhere.  It is possible the statute, requiring mitigation for forestland taken for a roadway project, has no relationship to the project area affected. 

 

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Weekly Almanac, Editorial

Some Wayne County landowners, particularly in the northern part of the county, have the opportunity to make royalties off their land by singing leases with natural gas companies that have been looking to acquire drilling rights here. Residents have been advised to find out as much as possible about the process before signing anything.

The companies’ interests will take precedence over the interests of the landowners.

Landowners were advised to join together, pool their acreage and hire a lawyer or agent to negotiate for them as a group.

-This editorial is one of the brightest and well written editorials that could be provided to the owners. The editorial realistically advises owners that they should look to what rights they have and pool their acreage. In most States, there is a State statute which allows pooling, thereby allowing the individual owners to maximize their values.  This will likely result in the highest possible royalty percentage.

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North Jersey, October 23, 2007

North Arlington officials on Monday called for a federal investigation into the "entire sorry episode" of the controversial EnCap proposal to build a massive golf course-residential-retail complex in three Bergen County communities.

The report, based on a review of 10,000 pages of state documents, showed that the project has added to the pollution in the Meadowlands -- revealing, for example, that 2.5 million cubic yards of contaminated materials have been brought to the site in Rutherford and Lyndhurst.

The project plans for Lyndhurst and Rutherford call for two golf courses, a hotel and 2,500 residences, all built atop the four old landfills there.

After The Record reported details about the $300 million in publicly funded financing for the project, Governor Corzine directed the state inspector general to investigate the deal. That review is still under way.

-No State is feeling the punishment of the private/public relationship more than New Jersey. Here EnCap is apparently accused of buying its way into deals with local government. Due to this, nothing is being developed, trust in the government is being destroyed, and one wonders whether government can ever treat private owners fairly.

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Trading Markets, October 24, 2007

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) that will identify and address the environmental impacts that could result from the construction and operation of the East to West HubLine Expansion Project (E2W Project or Project). The E2W Project is proposed by Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC (Algonquin), which is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Spectra Energy Corp. The Commission will use the EIS in its decision-making process to determine whether or not to authorize the Project. This notice describes the proposed Project facilities and explains the scoping process that will be used to gather input from the public and interested agencies on the Project. Your input will help determine the issues that need to be evaluated in the EIS.

Summary of the Proposed Project
Algonquin proposes to modify portions of its existing pipeline system in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. The E2W Project consists of the construction and operation of 46.1 miles of various diameter pipeline and associated ancillary pipeline facilities. Of this total, 13.0 miles consist of new pipeline in Massachusetts and 33.1 miles consist of the replacement of existing pipeline in Massachusetts and Connecticut. A significant portion of the 46.1 miles of the proposed pipeline facilities would be either within the existing Algonquin right-of-way or adjacent to an existing powerline right-of-way. No new right-of-way corridors would be created based on the alignment as currently proposed with the exception of several minor alignment deviations to facilitate construction.

In addition, Algonquin proposes to construct 2 new compressor stations in Massachusetts, install over-pressure protection regulation at 4 sites in Massachusetts, and install minor modifications at 5 existing compressor stations and 29 existing meter stations along Algonquin's system in the 5 Project states as described below. A general overview of the major Project facilities is shown in Appendix 1. /2/

-A major gas pipeline will be installed in new areas, as well as along old pipelines, in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The project is a major facility expansion traversing hundreds of miles. This will be a closely followed and much debated project affecting numerous landowners.

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UPDATE:  Right of way agencies are once again contacting owners.

Detroit News, September 19, 2007

City Council members grilled officials from Marathon Petroleum on Tuesday over the environmental impact of its $1.5 billion refinery expansion proposal and put pressure on the company to commit to hiring more Detroiters and minorities.

The project, which could bring up to 1,200 construction jobs and close to $9 million a year in taxes as well as increase gasoline supplies.

But some residents and environmental groups fear it would increase air pollution and say their southwest Detroit neighborhood is already overburdened with industry.

Company officials said they are committed to hiring Detroiters. They have scheduled job fairs and have set aside money for technical training and scholarships. The project will generate 135 permanent refinery jobs.

"The focus clearly is on Detroit residents," said Angelia Graves, a company spokeswoman.

-Marathon is still working to establish a plan, allowing for more temporary construction jobs and a number of permanent jobs. There is much to face in both the acquisition as well as construction process.

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YouNewsTV, October 17, 2007

A local landfill has agreed to pay for a much needed sewer treatment plant near Wyatt. In exchange, the landfill could purchase land from farmers without rezoning.

Waste Management has offered to pay for the $1.5 million plant, but in return, it wants an overlay district created around the Prairie View Landfill.

After criticism, St. Joseph County proposed smaller district.

The plan has undergone a few changes. But the biggest change is a contract is a contract that will require Waste Management to pay property owners for fair market value if an

Waste Management anticipates the landfill will need to expand in another 25 years. Some farmers who live next door to the landfill do not want to sell.

-Forcing farmers to lose the right and benefit of owning a farm with potential for other development in the future because of proximity to the waste site does not fulfill the basic requirement of full compensation clauses of either the Indiana or Michigan Constitutions.

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Shorelines, October 11, 2007

St. Johns County Utility is ready to finalize a deal to buy intercoastal Utilities. Some people still think the price is too high.

Appraised at $24.5 million, the aging water and sewer system serves about 4,500 residents in Ponte Vedra Beach and Palm Valley.

At a Palm Valley Community Association, meeting residents complained the appraised value is too high.

Whether or not no the county acquires the utility, it will have to pay the company’s legal fees for the past year.

-Many governmental agencies are attempting to take water and other utilities when they fear there is an environmental issue, a safety constraint, or inability to develop in an appropriate fashion in the future. However, this community should not think that their rates will go down simply because the utility is being purchased by the County.

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News and Tribune, October 4, 2007

The town of Clarksville says it may condemn a portion of the Peddler's Mall property in order to pursue a revitalization project on Easter Boulevard.

The condemnation being discussed would not affect the building but would lay claim to about 25 feet of road frontage.

The plan is to add new lanes, landscaping and sidewalks.  

- One of the things apparent in Clarksville is that the owners do not necessarily have to respond to the government.  Owners have no obligation other than to provide the condemning agency with materials which may serve as the basis for valuation.  

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Pantagraph, October 1, 2007

LeRoy attorney and political activist is recruiting clients to fight an eminent-domain request to build a crude-oil pipeline from Pontiac to Patoka in Southern Illinois.

Millions of dollars in payments to landowners hang in the outcome of Enbridge Inc’s request from eminent domain.

Enbridge spokesperson has repeatedly said eminent domain is a last resort.

 

-It is good to see an activist fight the condemnation process. However, each landowner should protect their individual interest on the damage claims. The same attorney can do this, but each owner should look to the individual claim that they may present. Otherwise, they may find themselves in front of a group of special masters who have no understanding of the issues at hand and face the possibility of no just compensation.

 

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Columus Dispatch, September 29, 2007

When Canal Winchester offered Richard "Pete" Stebelton $9,249 for a 1-mile strip of his property, Stebelton thought the payment was too low.

This month, a Franklin County Common Pleas jury decided the village should pay the farmer and used-car dealer $595,625. 

Canal Winchester wants the land to link a bike path between Rager Road and the village swimming pool. It used eminent domain to take a strip of Stebelton's 80-acre property and hired an appraiser who determined that the $9,249 would be enough compensation.

Stebelton was the only one of eight property owners who didn't agree to sell his land to the village for the path. Instead, he went to court to challenge the village's valuation.

The jury decided Sept. 20 that the land the village wants, along the northern edge of his property, is worth $37,000. But the jury also decided that by taking it, the village was closing off a back entrance to the property and damaging the value of the rest of Stebelton's land by $558,625.

-In many jurisdictions, even after the jury=s verdict, the condemning authority can withdraw from a condemnation.  This offers great risk to owners who may face a second condemnation, with not as decent results.

In this situation, it looks like Mr. Stebelton had the opportunity to face a community which may walk away, but at least pay his fees.  The process can be maddening indeed!

 

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Monroe News, September 22, 2007

The old real estate maxim is proving itself once again - this time when it comes to installing an oil pipeline.

 

Although some property owners don't want any kind of expanded oil pipeline running through their yards, others are okay with it - sort of.

For Gary Doubler, location has been the sticking point in his negotiations with Marathon Petroleum on behalf of his in-laws' farmland in Frenchtown along N. Custer and Raisinville Rds.

The project is being referred to as the Detroit Heavy Oil Upgrade Project (DHOUP) and would run from Samaria up to Detroit.

At this point, the project is proposed; no definitive plans have been secured. The new line would follow an existing line about 70 percent of the time. The other 30 percent of the time, it would run near the existing line but has had to be rerouted in places because of easement requirements.

The new line would be a wider (24-inch) pipe that would allow more viscous Canadian crude to flow.

Chris Fox, spokesperson for Marathon Oil on the DHOUP project, said the company has been in communication with all of the property owners along the route and has been working to secure the easements since last summer.

Deborah Brown, who owns land in Frenchtown, said the money Marathon was offering was laughable.

Ms. Fox said the company still is committed to working openly with people.

 

-The real problem is the pipeline right of way agents are negotiating either knowingly or negligently proceeding. This is becuase there is a very specific legal process in Michigan which requires that an appraisal or statement of value be provided to an owner prior to negotiation and purchase. The oil company agents are violating a condemnation procedure intended to protect owner’s whose properties may be take for public use in this State! I understand the process may be different in Oklahoma, but that does not mean the lack of knowledge of our fair procedure should bar owners of their rights.

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Detroit News, September 18, 2007

Hartland Township residents have enlisted state legislators in their battle against a plan to build overhead electric transmission lines through the county, but that's not an appropriate way to deal with the issue.

Officials in the Livingston County community and some residents have been protesting a state-approved plan for more than a year that allows ITC Transmission to install 95-foot tall power poles for the delivery of electricity to the growing area.

It is not, however, the state Legislature's job to micromanage the affairs of local communities or the companies that provide power and other services to meet their needs. That rests with the MPSC, which has already approved the project.

ITC addressed the issues and followed a MPSC request to change the route, which will add an estimated $2.2 million to the project. If forced to bury the lines, project costs will increase anywhere from $15 million to $40 million, ITC officials say. Those costs will be passed on to consumers.

-The author of this blog frequently agrees with the Detroit News Opinion page on land use. However, this time around, one is bound to disagree.

One of the few outlets we have to respond to land acquisitions is to seek relief via the legislative process. We should not be upset if the owners in this area are successful. The alternative would be no opportunity to respond to the actions taken by franchises granted by the government!

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Detroit News, September 4, 2007

Marathon cleared a hurdle this morning toward a proposed $1 billion expansion of its Detroit refinery.

The expansion would add 135 jobs at the refinery and increase gasoline supplies in Michigan.  The project would also create 1200 construction jobs.

Several city council members have said they have serious questions about the project's impact on the neighborhood.

-Apparently Marathon has slowed down its acquisition attempts in Monroe and Wayne Counties. Marathon is awaiting a final determination of which community will obtain the pipeline.

There are concerns about the negative impact on the neighborhood of the refinery. However, the station vis a vis the community and the brownfield cleanup may offset these concerns.

One thing is for certain, with a billion dollar proposed expansion, even if only a half tax occurs, an economic boom will occur in the local area.

The eminent domain proceeding, consisting of the condemnation necessary for the pipeline, would shift into high gear.

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Long Beach Press Telegram, August 17, 2007

Then city of San Pedro will pay a petroleum storage company $17 million to vacate 12 acres of waterfront property in the Port of Los Angeles.

The settlement comes after five years of negotiations in which the port threatened to condemn the property over various environmental and safety issues. Clean up, which may take several years, is organized by the city and the port.

-As in so many other communities, San Pedro has determined that the burden of cleanup costs and just compensation far outweigh the value to the community of an industrial use in an area attempting to de-industrialize. This is of major public policy import because there will soon be a day which there simply is not enough land to maintain industrial uses. Further, the environmentally sensitive uses being placed by gasoline type companies will inevitably change to higher and better uses such as high-rise residential, commercial development and intensively used port facilities.

 

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Chico Enterprise, August 18, 2007

Paradise Irrigation District has been in talks about collaborating with its neighbor, Del Oro Water Co., to chare water from a proposed pipeline.

PID officials announced they are looking at an alternative. They would like to acquire Del Oro’s two districts covering Lime Saddle and Old Magalia.

Del Oro maintains its districts are not for sale.

If PID presses ahead with the acquisition process, it will have to seek approval from the Butte County Local Agency.

-The article is a classic example of the desire to obtain a new “economy of scale” in purchasing franchises, thereby expanding the business viability and opportunity. As part of this taking, the proposed acquirer would best review its statutory authority. See Grosse Ile Township v. Grosse Ile Bridge Company, 727 Mich. 593 (2007).

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Delaware Online, August 23, 2007

Business owners in Wilmington are fighting the city’s plan to take their property using eminent domain.

Wilmington officials want to redevelop the riverfront, a plan 35 years in the making.

The city promised local business owner Ed Osborne and others fair market value and to relocate them to a business park near Garasches Lane.

-Clearly, communities need to redevelop blighted areas. The problem in Wilmington is that its citizens who are reasonable and responsible businessmen owning property in an area which is at least partially blighted. Then, the owners face the massive majority, such as that expressed in the Delaware Online article of the News Journal, in which it seems that the whole notion that there is nothing unfair in the process runs contrary to reality.

In the article, one of the questions raised was whether the owners were protected from abuse of authority.  The only answer is "no," they are not fully protected. The courts will hold that the government has the right to take the property unless there is a clear abuse of discretion in the governmental activity. This action is unlikely to be found in a situation where a major portion of the area is blighted. At the same time, the notion that owners will be protected just does not meet with the reality in which owners do not get paid for business interruption and other damages. Lost profits will be difficult to obtain, and the value of the businesses may not necessarily be paid.

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Pantagraph, August 20, 2007

A Canadian crude oil transporter requested eminent domain to construct a pipeline through McLean, Livingston and DeWitt counties.

The eminent domain power is sought only in the interest of efficiency and to meet public need for crude petroleum.

Enbridge wants to construct a 170 mile pipeline east of Bloomington from Pontiac to Patoka. Construction is slated to start in 2008.

-The pipeline going through Indiana is also going through Illinois. Property owners are challenging the taking at the Illinois Commerce Commission. It is unlikely that the local Commerce Commission would rule against a pipeline, especially in the present day context that the pipelines are federal activities and the challenge would therefore be made at the federal level. The pipeline company will aggressively take on the farmers, so the farmers and other owners challenging the estimate of just compensation is incorrect at a future date.

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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.