Beaverton School District settles eminent domain case for $3.7 million
“Beaverton School District settled an eminent domain case to acquire property near South Cooper Mountain for $3.7 million late Tuesday night, far less than the $9 million sought by the property owners.
The 31 acres, owned by the Harold Ward Revocable Living Trust and The Residuary Credit Shelter Trust, includes most of the 45 acres the district needs for a future high school north of Southwest Scholls Ferry Road near Roy Rogers Road.
Portland attorney Richard Yugler represented the Ward family trusts, which include the four children of Harold and Alma Ward.
“The family did not dispute the school district’s need for a school site,” Yugler said. “The only issue was valuation.
But a pretrial ruling by Washington County Circuit Court Judge Suzanne Upton “made it difficult for the family to present the (property) valuations it wanted,” Yugler said.
As a result, the two parties agreed to settle.
Originally, the district had offered $95,000 an acre, but the Beaverton School Board had given approval weeks earlier for its lawyers to offer $120,000 an acre to settle the case.””
Owen, Wendy. Oregonian 25 September 2013.