Turnpike Expansion and Eminent Domain
The OTA
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) has been in the news a lot lately. The OTA is frequently planning and executing construction that attempts to accommodate areas with increased traffic, as well as modernize highway and turnpike routes. However, they recently released plans that have many metro-area residents worried. The OTA has unveiled plans to expand the Kickapoo Turnpike west of Lake Thunderbird and create a new turnpike through Cleveland County. The new turnpike is expected to run through East Norman, connecting interstates 40 and 35.
Oklahoma news websites are trying to keep up with all the updates and impacts of these OTA plans, like one such article from KFOR by Kaitor Kay, which focuses on the OTA projects that cut through Norman. Many residents don’t feel their lives have been taken into consideration as the proposed plans move forward. The expansion is expected to disrupt quite a few properties, including an estimated 600 homes.
The proposals have garnered plenty of opposition, including from the Norman City Council, who unanimously passed a resolution opposing the section of the turnpike expansion that runs through Norman. Some Norman residents have created the organization “Pike Off OTA” to express their discontent. The KFOR article linked above, by Kaitlyn Ogle, lists off a few of the complaints made by residents, including loss of childhood homes, loss of peace of mind, and environmental impacts on Lake Thunderbird, which provides drinking water for Norman, Midwest City, and Del City.
Eminent Domain
The OTA’s website and specific construction and proposal outlines are hard to navigate, and they might leave you even more confused on how the expansion will affect you. The OTA’s process for expansion projects involves identifying properties in the proposed expansion plan, contacting those property owners, and attempting to reach a settlement offer to obtain the property. When a settlement cannot be reached, the OTA resorts to the eminent domain process.
The eminent domain process, also known as condemnation, involves the OTA filing official paperwork in the District Court in the county where the affected land is located, after which the court will deploy three unbiased landowners known as “Commissioners” to determine just compensation for the property or portion of the property the OTA plans to build upon. What is just compensation though? What does that mean for the property owner? Just compensation “shall mean the value of the property taken, and in addition, any injury to any part of the property not taken” 27 O.S. § 16(B). This means the commissioners will determine what they believe the property is worth, and then after filing their report with the court, the determined amount will be disbursed to the property owner, and the OTA will gain the right to enter and take possession of the property. The condemnation proceedings could end up awarding you a higher amount than the original appraisal offer.
If you suspect your property is in the path of an OTA project, you should contact an experienced property attorney as soon as possible. Waiting too long to contact a property attorney could reduce your negotiating power, as well as result in compensation far lower than if a property attorney had been involved. Plainview Legal Group is experienced in real property law and is equipped to help you handle any legal proceedings that may arise out of a condemnation case. Call our team at (405) 310-0183 or book a consultation through the “Contact Us’ button on our website, and we’ll be happy to help you through the eminent domain process.
