Road projects could put eminent domain law to test
“The driving force behind a 2012 state constitutional amendment that strengthened property rights says construction along U.S. 29 may provide a proving ground for how the state compensates land owners in eminent domain cases.
“This is a big project with a lot at stake for a lot of folks,” said State Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, who spearheaded the legislation.
Under the amendment and related laws, Obenshain said, property owners affected by the $230 million in road projects designed to alleviate congestion in Albemarle’s urban ring may seek compensation for lost profits or lost access to their property.
How many people qualify is not clear, he said, but experts said the law generally applies to people who have had land taken for public use.
The state’s top transportation official said Thursday that the five ventures that have submitted design-build bids for the work along U.S. 29 to date do not plan to take anyone’s land or business.
“Our guys are telling us we don’t need any more right of way, we can do it in the right of way we have,” said state Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne. “Last I saw, we may not even need to take any parking spaces.”
That same day, members of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Right of Way and Utilities Division told James Plotkin they may need to tear up his parking lot.”
Shurtleff, Andrew. The Daily Progress 7 September 2014.