Landowner Might Contest Eminent Domain Suit by City
Lincoln hopes to route sewer pipeline project through property
Development company Reynen & Bardis is prepared to challenge a possible eminent domain lawsuit by the city for its Lincoln property.
Gary Livaich, an attorney for the group, said the city of Lincoln has not fulfilled government code requirements in its effort to acquire a portion of his client’s property for a sewer pipeline project that would serve the Twelve Bridges area.
Plans call for the pipeline to bisect Antonio Mountain Ranch - a Reynen & Bardis property off Athens Avenue used for wetlands mitigation - on its way to the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
An independent appraisal by the city did not take into account severance damages, Livaich said.
The city is not taking the entire property - they’re taking a corridor right down the middle,” he said. “In part-take cases, there are severance damages to the remaining property, and in this particular instance, the city instructed the appraiser not to look at severance damages. The appraiser even wrote in his report that this request was extraordinary.”
Damages from splitting the land could be in the millions of dollars, Livaich told council members at a Jan. 22 hearing.
“You’re taking a swath right down the middle of my client’s property, and what’s left is two pieces of property separated by city ownership,” he said. “After it’s completed, it’s landlocked.”
But Larry Buckle, an engineering consultant for the city, said the property owner agreed to forgo severance damages.
Buckle said damages were determined to be unnecessary in a discussion between Reynen & Bardis, city officials, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a representative from U.S. Rep. John Doolittle’s office.
It was unequivocally determined by Fish & Wildlife and stated to everyone in the room - including the property owner - that there would be absolutely no damage created outside the entire indirect impact area,” he said. “Both the city and the property owner worked together to reach that determination.” Affected land - including 250 feet on either side of the 100-foot-wide pipeline that could be indirectly impacted - would be acquired by the city, as recommended by Fish & Wildlife.
Because the land’s only function is to preserve wildlife, its division won’t impact property retained by Reynen & Bardis, he said.
“A bird flying over the property would be uninhibited by the property line,” Buckle said.
In all, Buckle said Lincoln would acquire about 100 of the ranch’s approximately 600 acres.
He said using a route that avoids Antonio Mountain Ranch could cost an extra $20 million, doubling the estimated price for the total project.
If the offer based on the appraisal is not accepted, Lincoln could enter the eminent domain process, said Rodney Campbell, community development director for Lincoln.
“There’s usually a period in which the city tries to negotiate, to see if something can be worked out to everyone’s satisfaction,” he said. “If that’s not the case, the city considers moving forward. But the land owner always has the ability to challenge the amount of money being paid, even after the city acquires the property, and even if they didn’t prevent the city from acquiring the property.”
For now, Reynen & Bardis’ lawyer said, the ball is in the city’s court.
“Their next step is filing an eminent domain lawsuit serving the land owner,” Livaich said.
Though Livaich said his client has “sound legal basis for the right to take defense,” he added that he is open to further negotiation with city. “I’ll do everything justified to protect the rights of my client, but that doesn’t mean I won’t talk,” he said.
http://www.lincolnnewsmessenger.com/articles/2008/01/31/news/top_stories/03suit.txt?pg=1
lincolnnewsmessenger.com
By: Cheri March, The News Messenger
Thursday, January 31, 2008