City may move forward with eminent domain for Stateway Plaza connector road
“Not yet hearing from the strip mall’s owners, the city may now initiate eminent domain proceedings to obtain the land needed for a connector road that would go through the parking lot of Stateway Plaza.
City Attorney James A. Burrows said a June 6 deadline passed without hearing from plaza owners Ben Wygodny and Martin Wenger, both of Montreal, so the city may pursue legal action to obtain about 2½ acres for the connector road.
“They never got back to me,” Mr. Burrows said this week.
The City Council set a 45-day deadline for the plaza owners to accept a $345,000 offer for land needed for a connector road through the strip mall, or the city would proceed with court action.
Mr. Burrows said he is preparing to start the proceedings, but the City Council has been divided on the issue. It will be up to council members to decide how and when to proceed.
In April, a majority of City Council members agreed the city should commence with condemnation, leading to eminent domain, once the June 6 deadline passed.”
Fox, Craig. Watertown Daily News, 28 June 2014.