Posted on 01/11/2011 8:45:38 AM PST by mamelukesabre
I just received a phone call from a government official telling me they are taking my property for a public works project and I have until 2012 to hand it over. Naturally they must buy it, but I don't want to sell. Does anyone have experience fighting eminent domain? Is it possible to fight it?
No project is done with out plans, budget, public hearings and Lawyers. No agency is going to just call.
Is it possible for me to be forced to sell without invoking eminent domain? I’m starting to wonder if they are trying to make me THINK I have to sell when I don’t really have to. I’m gonna keep an open mind for now and assume they are lying to me about something...which isn’t hard for me to do since I never trust government.
Your only hope is to find some endangered species on your property.
1. Still refuses to provide redacted notice.
2. Still refuses to identify project name, state, county and city if applicable.
3. Keeps providing anecdotal and “so and so told me!” details supporting his conjecture instead of the directly asked details that would verify that this is really happening.
Troll!
=8-)
Why not just ask for it on an official letterhead before doing anything?
A state legislator by the name of Howard Dean had a thing for bike
paths, and managed to push through a law retaking the
property for bike paths, and the then-mayor, one Bernie
Sanders, didn't complain.
It took about twenty years, but the guy did prevail in the USSC.
How can a phone call, which you say is very suspicious, appear to be legitimate?
You never trust govt, yet you trust someone on the phone that says thay are govt, to be legit?
The easy way is to go to your Town and talk to your Town Engineer.
They’re pulling one of these land scams in our town as I write.
Unfortunetly, these days you should never speak to anyone from the govt. without a lawyer present. I am not just being paranoid. It is extremely unusual for them to contact you by phone.
Good point. I assumed it was legit since the other business is relocating. THat was a logic error on my part. The suspicious part is what has been going on(or seem to have been going on) in this neighborhood the last 5 years. I think my best course of action is to ignore the request for a face to face meeting. I don’t see how it could hurt me to do so.
I suppose they could try to claim some kind of code violations or say the structures were unsafe and use those pretexts to place leins on or condemn the property.
Document every contact you have with any official concerning this matter.
However I am not a lawyer and you need to speak with one who can tell you how to protect your property rights.
That would be a good start unless it is sewer or water that is a seperate enity.
EVERYTHING HAS TO BE "WRITTEN".
If it's a sewage treatment plant, it's a longterm project. Been there, done that.
We even designed a lagoon for a hick town...very cool.
Many states have laws prohibiting Kelo-style takings.
We have those clowns show up all the time on projects.
You got notice of an eminent domain action by a phone call? Could this have been a joke someone is playing on you.
That smells fishy unless the government agency involved were just trying to give you a heads up before you got the nasty news in the mail.
Not much you can do after the S.Ct upheld an eminent domain taking of property to give to another private developer to simply enhance tax revenue. http://www.cga.ct.gov/2004/rpt/2004-R-0394.htm
However, the outrage this Kelo decision caused nationwide prompted many state legislatures to sharply modify the use of eminent domain in their jurisdictions.
You will need an attorney to sort out your options.
It’s not a new reg. It sounds like the city is planning to divert storm water from the regular sewer system. Cities over a certain population nationwide have been on the hook for this for about twenty years. If what you’re seeing is legit, the planning process should have been going on for some time. The city should already have lots of engineering work completed. The surveying you spotted previously was your heads up that something was going on.
http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/munic.cfm
Given your information, I wouldn’t waste money fighting the process. Spend your time and money, as others have said, getting every cent you can for every aspect of your business. If you relocate you’ll obviously lose income for a period plus change anything related to the new address.
Appraisers have a couple of methods of valuing property. Make sure you get the highest valuation from an appraiser licensed for commercial property. My priority would be looking for an appraiser that you can work with.
I don’t suppose you could point me to a website that would have a map of ongoing and proposed stormwater management facility construction projects? That would help me prove to myself if this is for real and how hopeless my situation is.
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