Bee Cave Road acquisition on track, mayor says
“As West Lake Hills begins to exercise eminent domain against a few properties along Bee Cave Road, Mayor Dave Claunch says he believes the city is on track to acquire all property by this summer needed to expand part of the road and add a middle turn lane.
Eminent domain is the city’s last resort in ongoing negotiations with the properties along Bee Cave, from just north of Walsh Tarlton to just north of Buckeye Trail. The city’s already acquired more than half of the parcels it needs, either because property owners donated varying amounts of right of way along the road for free or the city successfully negotiated a price for the property, Claunch said. It’s negotiating with about a dozen others.
Citing legal proceedings and property negotations, officials have declined to name the amount of money the West Lake Hills City Council allowed Claunch to spend to acquire the remaining right of way.
There’s also a possibility that the city will have to purchase a house, he said.
“At this time, only one of the parcels we need to acquire would constitute a ‘full takings,’ which would require us to purchase not just the (right of way) land, but also the house that sits on top of that (right of way),” Claunch said. “The appraised value of that property therefore includes the value of the house. For all other parcels, there is no structure sitting on top of the (right-of-way) section that we need to acquire.””
Urbaszewski, Katie. StatesMan 3 March 2013.