Summer trial set for airport eminent domain case
“Earlier this year the commissioners filed a petition seeking to acquire 47 acres at either end of the airpark, offering $280,000 for the entire acreage. The property is owned by North Kenova Holdings LLC and North Kenova Development Co. Inc.
At the time Chesapeake attorney Richard Meyers, representing the county commission, said getting the property was a matter of safety.
On Jan. 20, 2011, the county commission passed a resolution stating there was a public need to expand the airport to comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
“(Those requirements were for) runway safety areas, air space removal, approach surface penetration, the land and air scale regulations as identified in the Lawrence County Cemetery Study (July 2002), the Runway Safety Area Study of Airport 2004 and the Airport Master Plan update of March 2005,” the resolution stated.
However, Richard Wilson, whose family owns the North Kenova companies, wants more money than the offer and the elimination of the airport so the land can be developed for commercial use.
“We have engaged certified appraisers and as a result of the information we get back, we can make some kind of an offer,” Wilson said. “One is from Cincinnati and is well-versed in the matters of eminent domain and the other is from West Virginia and is also well-versed.””
Heath, Benita. The Tribune 25 September 2012.