Nichole Y. Shafer
Guest Columnist
There are a lot of roads and bridges in our area under construction. Some are under construction due to being worn down from everyday wear and tear. Others are under construction to remedy safety hazards such as dangerous intersections.
Typically, when construction is being done due to remedy safety hazards, the current layout gets modified in one way or another. Sometimes modification of a bridge or road for safety hazards requires widening the existing road or bridge.
Widening the existing structure may require the state to obtain more real estate from the surrounding property owners. These surrounding property owners will have no choice but to allow the state to purchase their property in most instances. This is largely because the state can usually take the property through eminent domain, even if the property owner refuses to sign off.
Eminent domain is the power of the federal, state and local governments to take private property for public use.
For the federal, state and local governments to take property under eminent domain, they must file a lawsuit.
Further, some people think that a property can only be taken by eminent domain if the taking will benefit a large number of people. This is a misconception. Eminent domain is not restricted to a large number of benefitted people and can be exercised so long as the taking shall benefit the public. However, it has been widely known that a taking that only benefits one person is not considered public benefit.
If a property is subject to an eminent domain action, the property cannot be taken for free. Ohio law requires that the government pay the owner of the property “just compensation.” Just compensation under Ohio law is defined as the “fair market value” of the property taken. Fair market value is the amount of money which the property owner could obtain on the market if they were voluntarily selling the property.
When eminent domain is done on a property, the government does not have to take the entire property as currently defined in the existing property survey. In fact, most times the government will have the property re-surveyed. This is because the government will only take the part of the property it needs for the public use.
If only part of the property is taken, the property owner may also be entitled to damages in addition to the just compensation of the property. Damages are the loss in value of the residue of the property because of its severance from the property taken.
In some instances, the property owner and the government cannot agree as to the price that shall be paid for the property. In those instances, Ohio law provides that the price of the property shall be set by a jury trial.
Thus, even if you don’t agree on a price for your property, the government under Ohio law has a process in place that would allow the government to take the property for public use.
Nichole Y. Shafer is an Ohio-licensed attorney at Schroeder Law LTD in Putnam County. She limits her practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. She can be reached at [email protected] or at 419-659-2058. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.
