Definition:  The power of the federal or state government to take private property for a public purpose, even if the property owner objects. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution allows the government to take private property if the taking is for a public use and the owner is “justly compensated” (usually, paid fair market value) for his or her loss. A public use is virtually anything that is sanctioned by a federal or state legislative body, but such uses may include roads, parks, reservoirs, schools, hospitals or other public buildings. Sometimes called condemnation, taking or expropriation.   Compliments of NOLO.com

Our company is going through this process right now and I think there are a ton of great lessons learned from this process.  If you or one of your clients ever have to go through this process, this should help.

Our property is well north of 300 acres in size and it is not located in the Las Vegas real estate market.  It is actually located in Arizona, but since eminent domain laws are very similar across states, this is not very important. 

In 2004, a very large, well known public utility began the process of asking the government body to (in this case the Arizona Corporation Commission or ACC) for permission to embark on the project and eventually acquire the land.  This initial process is the first step needed by any government entity (or quasi-government entity like utility companies) to identify if there is going to be a real project at hand. 

Once the need has been identified, then the government body starts the public hearing process and moves towards eventual approval.  In 2005, there were several public hearings and decisions were made about just where the utility easement would be located.  The easement in this case, spans several hundred miles from one end of the valley the other and requires roughly 120 feet in width.  For any who don’t know, the utility in question is an electrical transmission line (500kw to be exact).

The process called to identify the easement “corridor” which they were going to place their final easement.  This corridor was 1,000 feet wide, of which they would ultimately need roughly 90-120 feet easement.  The corridor was to put the “ball park” location in place and then let the engineering dictate exactly where the easement would be during that next phase. 

This process can be very contentious at times.  Having an electrical transmission line running through your backyard doesn’t exactly enhance the value of your land.  In our case, it was going right through the middle of the property.  All the property owners want their say and if they had their way, no line would be built within 10 miles of their property.  Everyone understands the need for the line, but NIMBY (or Not In My Back Yard) rules the day.

In any event, the line was going in and the public process ended with the Arizona Corporation Commission approving the easement corridor.  This sets the stage for the public utility to start the engineering process and then eventually the process of acquiring the land for their needs.  They can acquire the land in one of two ways:  1) negotiate a settlement with the landowners on price, usually using appraisals and damage assessments or 2) condemn the property and move through the eminent domain process.  Number 2 says that the question of getting the property is no longer a question.  The property is theirs to condemn and take.  The eminent domain process is one of identifying the compensation.  This usually can happen either through mediation or an actual jury trial.

And this, my friends, is where the story gets interesting.  “What could possibly go wrong,” you say? Stay tuned to read what happened next and how this story goes from standard operating procedures to pure whacky.