City files eminent domain petition for land near airport
“The city of Columbia has filed a petition for eminent domain to acquire about 5 acres of farmland northeast of Columbia Regional Airport that the city needs to extend the airport’s main runway. The project also requires the realignment of Rangeline Road and Route H.
The Columbia City Council approved a bill at its Feb. 17 regular meeting to spend $639,000 for the purchase of roughly 58 acres of land north of the airport. According to a council report, the city is eligible to have 90 percent of that cost reimbursed by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The city’s petition for eminent domain was filed in Boone County Circuit Court on May 15. Assistant City Counselor Cavanaugh Noce said the city filed the petition after it was unable to negotiate a selling price with Robert White, the trustee of a fund that owns the land. White could not be reached for comment.
According to the website for the state’s Office of the Ombudsman for Property Rights, if a property owner challenges an entity’s right to condemn their property in court, the court will appoint a group of three disinterested commissioners that would determine the damages the property owner would suffer as a result of losing their property.”
Denney, Andrew. Columbia Daily Tribune 25 May 2014.