Devils Lake, ND, mulls eminent domain on family farm

“It’s an eminent domain proceeding for the embankment,” says Tom Traynor, city attorney. Eminent domain is a government’s right to take property from landowners for public use with proper compensation.

The legal tactic has been applied to “a small minority” of land the city has acquired for its flood embankment, which is currently about 12 miles long, Traynor says.

Now, “the city has rights to all of the land it needs for the embankment,” he says.

The meeting today is regarding payment for 10 acres of Mertens Farms, Traynor says. The city pays for eminent domain property according to an appraisal, and landowners can then dispute the price with a different appraisal, he says.

Mertens Farms is about 75 acres total, according to Ramsey County records.

No one answered the phone number listed for Mertens Farms and an answering machine did not pick up when the Herald called seeking comment.