Judge Rules For Manchester In Eminent Domain Case
“A judge has ruled in the town’s favor in an eminent domain case centered on the 12th tee of the town-owned golf course.
To resolve longstanding concerns about municipal ownership of the entire course, the town took a 1.3-acre parcel from the Carlson family in 2011. Judge Richard Rittenband found after a trial last week in Hartford Superior Court that the town’s appraisal of $52,000 for the parcel was fair.
The town has owned the golf course since 1955, and somewhere along the line, a mistake was made and the course swallowed part of the Carlson family’s 12.5 acres off South Main Street near the Glastonbury line. Town officials say they had tried for 20 years to make a deal with the family to buy the 1.3 acres on the 12th tee, offering to purchase the property or make an equitable land swap. Family members, however, “could not agree on a unified position” regarding the town’s offers, Assistant Town Attorney Tim O’Neil wrote in a 2011 memo to the board of directors.
Acquiring the property, former Mayor Lou Spadaccini said at the time, “resolves any doubt as to whether the town has full ownership and control of the entire golf course, and it’s also the fair thing to do for the property owners because this has been a use of their land for many years.”
Carlson Associates contended that the town “invaded the property” and “occupied it for a public purpose,” according to court documents. The town’s actions excluded the owners from private use of the land without just compensation, Carlson Associates contended.”
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Leavenworth, Jesse. Courant.com 20 February 2013.