Benton Harbor- Universal Offer
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?
