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

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HOLLAND TOWNSHIP -- The Ottawa County Road Commission said it needs the property where a popular dry cleaner has been in business for nearly two decades for a project to widen a portion of River Avenue to seven lanes just north of the bridge separating the township from Holland.

However, Sheldon Cleaners' property owner isn't willing to part with the land at the southwest corner of River and Douglas Avenue without a fight.

The Road Commission has filed suit in Ottawa County Circuit Court to acquire the property at 118 Douglas Ave, offering $430,000 price for the 0.16-acre site. Kentwood-based P&L Co., which owns the property and leases it to Sheldon Cleaners, has sued the Road Commission, claiming the commission reneged on an agreement that Sheldon Cleaners could relocate onto an adjacent parcel.

The property was owned by the Road Commission, but was sold last year to the Geenen DeKock Group, LLC, for $214,850, county records show.

"Money is not the issue here," said Louie Cares, co-owner for both Sheldon Cleaners and P&L. "We want what (the Road Commission) promised us."

The Holland Township site is one of Sheldon Cleaners' top three locations among its 30 stores in West Michigan, Cares said.

"It's an antiquated intersection, and the time is now to start modernizing it and improving it," said Jim Bidol, an attorney representing the Road Commission in the eminent-domain case.

The $1.35 million project, which would widen River from five to seven lanes from Howard Avenue to the CSX railroad tracks just north of Douglas, is planned for late summer construction, according to the Road Commission.

One needs to look at the pleadings involved in this case. The taking of the whole property is, seemingly in part, to provide the remainder to an owner of an adjacent parcel in order to redevelop. Only a part of the parcel is needed for the road widening, with the remainder being taken to aid the developer who owns property in the area.

This is not what was contemplated in a recent state constitutional amendment. Further, the Michigan Uniform Condemnation Procedures Act provides that excess land should not be taken to make the project more profitable for the governmental agency acquiring the property.

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State News

East Village-area property owners upset about a recent Lansing State Journal letter to the editor by an East Lansing official had their say Tuesday at the East Lansing City Council meeting.

In the letter, East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton responded to allegations that the city intends to use blight designations and eminent domain to seize land from property owners.

The property owners in attendance Tuesday said they felt they were being portrayed as trying to extort money from the government. Staton responded by saying his comments were directed to the Mackinaw Center for Public Policy, an organization that had published a separate letter in various newspapers last month.

The land in question is located at the proposed site of the city’s East Village development project, which would replace several student housing units and businesses, including Cedar Village apartments and McDonald’s.

San Diego-based Pierce Education Properties currently is 12 months into a 30-month deadline to complete the land acquisition of the properties located in the planned East Village area but hasn’t acquired any properties.

East Lansing should carefully limit its land planning techniques. The harm which can be done by the threat of utilizing the Takings Clause is limited to true Public Use takings and not pipedreams of planners and politicians.

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Crain’s Detroit Business, March 21, 2008

The Wayne County Airport Authority board delayed a vote Thursday on a controversial $3.6 billion, 20-year master improvement plan for Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

The authority, which governs the airport’s operation, cited public desire for more time to learn about the plan. There are mounting objections from local municipalities, especially the city of Romulus, that decry the displacement of homes, business and schools for a new 10,000-foot runway.

About 200 people, including residents and elected officials, gathered in a meeting room at the Westin Hotel in the airport’s McNamara Terminal in expectation of a presentation by the authority, local officials, and then a vote.

Eminent domain would likely be required to complete the expansion. About 800 residences would need to be demolished, including apartment buildings and single-family homes, to make way for the runway.

-The meaning of the delay and uncertainty will only create a blighting influence, both emotionally and physically, to the areas businesses and residents. It will be tough to transact business or sell a business or a residential parcel when one knows there is a condemnation just down the road.

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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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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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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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Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation v. Nestle Waters of America, Inc, 479 Mich. ----; --- NW2d ---- , is a case in which both the majority and dissent have arrived at a logical decision making approach premised upon the underlying public policy that legislation is to be read purely for and restricted to its writing versus the legislative intent. What needs to be done for this legislation to be read in the broader sense than environmental policies are to be protected and all of the public has the right to such protection is that legislation should simply state that. All that is needed is something along the lines of: "Individuals have a right to seek relief under this Act", then the issue would be moot. However, even without such language, one can read the present legislation as contemplating individuals, even those indirectly affected, have a right to seek the environmental protections of the Act.

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Monroe Evening News, January 18, 2007

When property owners in Monroe Michigan found out about a proposed Marathon Petroleum pipeline they understood that pipelines are a fact of life, but that doesn't mean they have to like it.

Marathon has been laying the groundwork for installing a new pipeline through Monroe County.   The pipeline would bring crude oil from Canada to the transfer station in Detroit.

The new line would be wider by 24 inches.

-Pipelines often have different attributes. Some are gas, while others are oil or gasoline.
Each pipeline has a different effect on the property. The environmental considerations are of paramount import. Affects on the property may occur in any of a number of ways.

The pipeline companies can be challenged. Despite a pipeline agent telling people that it will be very expensive for them, in many jurisdictions, the agency is required to pay the expert fees of the owners even as part of a settlement or litigation. The Marathon pipeline discussed in the Monroe Evening News will be particularly challenging for owners.

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