Condemnation tabled

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to further extend the condemnation decision on a parcel of land near the airport following a public hearing last week. The county is attempting to acquire a 1.364-acre parcel owned by Helen Marie Taylor at the south-end of the Orange County Airport. Federal Aviation Administration regulations require the airport owner to control all land in the runway protection zone, which includes the contentious property. The property would also enable the county to make road improvements and construct a sewer line near Bloomsbury Road.
Taylor's land was originally included in a 2007 condemnation effort of other neighboring parcels near the airport, but because of inadequate notification, it was removed from the initial acquisition and condemnation proceedings postponed. Since then, disputes between the county and Taylor over the just compensation for the property have further delayed the condemnation. Based on an appraisal by ERA Hallmark Properties of Lynchburg, the county offered Taylor $110,000 for her land, which she refused. Taylor then countered with a $300,000 offer, based on what Taylor's attorney Henry Howell said was a comparable property, the CVS site in Orange, which the county refused. Because the land acquisition is related to the airport, the FAA will cover the bill, but public works director Kurt Hildebrand said the FAA wouldn't pay more than the appraised value.
The supervisors' 4-1 vote to delay the condemnation last Tuesday came as a result of a request by Taylor for more time, as she has recently retained an independent appraiser to assess the value of her land. Taylor was given one month to report her appraiser's findings to the board. District 3 Supervisor and newly elected board chairman Teel Goodwin was the dissenting vote.
During the public hearing there were three speakers, Taylor, Howell and former District 2 Supervisor Zack Burkett. Taylor told the board they were undervaluing her property and missing a commercial opportunity.
"This is a very important piece of commercial property," said Taylor. "It is situated on one of the busiest corners in all of Orange County and [if a business were placed there] could bring sizeable amount of taxes into the county. The board is acting like it's just another piece of land and it's not."
Her attorney added that Taylor was making a good faith effort to seek a resolution by retaining the appraiser, but said the county would not be honoring its original land agreement if the matter was not tabled and condemnation progressed.
"I feel things need to be resolved before the awesome power of eminent domain is used," said Howell.
Burkett agreed with the county that the $110,000 assessment was likely fair, but that the number of years needed to negotiate the matter was an embarrassment to Orange County. He recommended the board pay the county assessed price plus the costs of condemnation.
Adam Switzer from Delta Airport Consultants told the board that given the position of the land in the area of the RPZ, structures typically aren't built, but that any business would be limited to a height of 30 feet at the most.
"The RPZ is meant to protect the people on the ground from aircraft falling out of the air," said Switzer. "The area is mapped out based on historical data collected on where airplanes typically crash if they do crash."
Switzer added that a self storage facility is an example of the type of business sometimes constructed within an RPZ.
When asked by the board if a decision on the matter was pressing, Hildebrand said some additional time could be taken.
"There is no pressing need," he said. "The FAA wants to settle the matter as soon as possible but a week or month won't make a difference."
The board is expected to revisit the issue in February.