Eminent Domain Used for New West Boca Raton School
Published Tuesday, September 25, 2007
by By Nicol Jenkins
http://www.bocaratonnews.com/index.php?src=news&refno=21125&category=Main%20Headline
The School Board of Palm Beach County recently approved acquiring a new 20.197-acre site totaling $10 million to build a new West Boca Raton Elementary School.
This site is smaller and has been moved from a previous site approved.
At the August 16, 2006 School Board meeting, board members approved the acquisition of a 20.502 acre site for West Boca Elementary School through eminent domain. However, due to a slight change in location a new resolution with the correct legal description has been approved, district reports show. The property was previously located on State Road 7, North of Glades Road in Boca Raton. Now, the school will be located on 95th Ave South near West Boca Lake and Olympic Heights High School.
The district will use eminent domain to acquire the site which is scheduled to open in August 2009. The district’s legal department will hire an eminent domain attorney.
Additionally, an environmental audit was completed and found no concerns.
The use for eminent domain is necessary because, “It’s getting tougher and tougher to buy real estate,” according to District Chief of Facilities Management Joseph Sanches.
School Board member Mark Hansen agrees.
“Every situation is unique having to work with buying and selling and wants and needs,” said Hansen.
In the case of building a new West Boca Raton Area Elementary School, Sanches has said the owner was unwilling to sell the property. Therefore, the district said it would exercise the option of eminent domain.
In order to gain access to the site and to facilitate the timely acquisition of the property, it is necessary to use the eminent domain process, according to the district. This process provides a “quick taking” of the property, but does not limit negotiations with the owners to arrive at a contractual settlement including distribution of funds either before or after the “Order of Taking”, a district report states.
According to Sanches, this is not the first time the district had to resort to eminent domain. “In the past, to acquire pieces of property we’ve had to get board approval,” Sanches has said.
Despite real estate battles, the New West Boca Area Elementary School is scheduled to open in August 2009, Sanches said.
“That’s still the plan,” he said.
He added that the school is being built to provide enrollment relief for neighboring elementary schools including, Whispering Pines, Sunrise Park, Sandpiper Shores and Del Prado Elementary Schools.
“It will be built for about 960 students,” Sanches has said.
Acquisition of this land is needed to construct the school facility and meet the required opening date in order to comply with school concurrency, district reports further stated.
Hansen said the school is necessary to meet student growth.
“With growth, it’s certainly needed,” Hansen said. “It’s going to be a great school.”
The site design criteria will address the traffic concerns providing sufficient on-site stacking and parking, according to a district report.