Bettendorf considers seizing land for Middle Road project

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By Wayne Ma | Sunday, August 13, 2006 11:42 PM CDT | () comments

A project that will rebuild a section of Middle Road in Bettendorf has been delayed by almost a year because of negotiations among private property owners, city officials say.

If an agreement cannot be reached for temporary construction easements on the land between Belmont and Crow Creek roads, city officials will condemn and temporarily take the land. The law of eminent domain would allow the city government to take private property for public use, City Attorney Greg Jager said.

Although Jager already has started the condemnation process on four properties, the owners still have an opportunity to accept a final offer before they are forced to rent the parcels at a price determined by a condemnation jury.

In the past 10 years, Bettendorf has exercised eminent domain only once — for a road project that extended 53rd Street to Devils Glen Road, he said.

“As a philosophy, the city has felt that it’s better to negotiate a settlement to make the party, if not happy, at least satisfied,” he added.

The Middle Road project has been split into two phases because of the delay, said Wally Mook, director of public works. Construction of a new bridge over Crow Creek began in June and is scheduled to be done in September, City Engineer Denny Snyder said. However, construction of the new road has been pushed back to springtime.

The portion of Middle Road being rebuilt has poor surface conditions, gradients and sight distances, Mook said. The second phase of the project will level and straighten the road, he added.

The budget for the road project is about $3.5 million, with $1.5 million coming from the city and another $2 million coming from the federal government, according to city documents. City officials already have paid about $446,000 for right-of-way acquisition and temporary construction easements for the road project. A total of about 8.5 acres — or about 370,000 square feet — has been negotiated for temporary construction easements, with owners renting anywhere from 5,000 to 250,000 square feet of their property for use by construction workers.

Tim Martin is one property owner who still has not reached an agreement with city officials. Martin, who works in real estate, said the city’s offer of $49,000 is low compared with the $161,000 he is seeking for 12,200 square feet of his backyard and 5,700 acres for an outlot. When construction is completed, the road also will be about eight feet closer to the Martins’ backyard, Mook said. The dollar amounts are so far apart because each party used a different appraiser to estimate the amount of damages the project will create, Jager added.

City officials still are negotiating with property owner Joe Ven Horst on a $15,000 offer for a 4,800-acre temporary construction easement on his land. Because the Ven Horst property will incur some damage during construction, the offer includes money for new trees, a driveway extension and a sewer access point, according to city documents.

Ven Horst said he has been burdened by unnecessary costs because of the road project. In order to negotiate the sale, he has hired an attorney and an independent appraiser, and none of their services will be reimbursed by the city, he said. Additionally, the city’s final offer does not factor in the long-term effects of increased traffic, noise and destruction of nearby trees by moving the road 125 feet closer to his property, he said.

Although no time limit has been set on funding, Snyder said he fears city officials might lose federal aid because of the delays. This is not the first time a city project has been delayed because of property negotiations, he added. It took more than five years to connect the Bettendorf-Davenport riverfront recreation trail, and city officials almost lost a $150,000 federal grant because of the amount of time the project took, he said.

Wayne Ma can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or wma@qctimes.com.

PUBLIC HEARING

The Bettendorf City Council will hold a public hearing on the Middle Road project and condemnation during its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.

What is eminent domain?

Eminent domain is a law that allows governments to purchase private property without an owner’s consent. In most cases, just compensation still is made for the land. Governments typically use eminent domain when the acquisition of property is necessary for a public project such as a road and the owner is unwilling to negotiate a price for its sale.