Date: 07-17-2001

Case Style: Ada County Highway District v. Sharon L. Sharp

Case Number: 26237

Judge: Schwartzman

Court: Court of Appeals of Idaho

Plaintiff's Attorney: Warren E. Jones of Eberle, Berlin, Kading, Turnbow & McKlveen, Chartered, Boise, Idaho

Defendant's Attorney: Heather Ann Cunningham of Davison, Copple, Copple, Copple & Ludwig, Boise, Idaho

Description: Sharon L. Sharp appeals from the district court’s judgment deciding that an order of condemnation from the Ada County Highway District (ACHD) does not define the nature and scope of a take and that her property suffered no severance damages. Sharp also appeals from the district court’s denial of her claim for attorney fees and costs. We affirm.

I.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The ACHD decided to widen a portion of Eagle Road between the Eagle Bypass and State Street in Eagle, Idaho. Sharp owns three contiguous lots on the corner of Eagle Road and Aikens Street. There are three homes on these lots. Two of the three lots border Eagle Road and have access driveways to Eagle Road. The third lot has an access driveway to Aikens Street.

It is undisputed that the highest and best use of these three lots is commercial and not residential. It is further undisputed that the then-existing residential access driveways could not be implemented for commercial purposes. The ACHD prepared plans for the widening project that provided Sharp with her current residential access driveways onto Eagle Road. During subsequent negotiations, Sharp expressed her concern that ACHD was taking all her rights to future commercial access to Eagle Road, thus greatly devaluing her property. Dick Brown of the ACHD memorialized Sharp’s concerns in a memorandum stating:

She wants some access to Eagle, other than the one presently in existence on the corner of Aikens and Eagle Road.

Answer – She may have the access to Eagle Road as it now exists. Once the property sells, this access will be taken away. Franz Witte said that her loss of access to Eagle Road would devalue her property. The property was valued at its present condition. I said I would ask if she could have another access to Eagle Road, other than the access now on the corner.

Thereafter, Sharp asserts she was told that she could only have the existing residential access to and from Eagle Road after the widening.

The ACHD offered Sharp $16,258 for a small slice of land they sought to take, but Sharp declined that offer. On February 19, 1997, ACHD entered an Order of Condemnation regarding a portion of Sharp’s property bordering Eagle Road. The order included this statement:

[A]ll rights of access to, from, and between the right-of-way of the public way and all of the contiguous remaining real property of the named owners, or reputed owners, shall be extinguished and prohibited except for access, if any, in the project hereinabove described.

On March 6, 1997, ACHD filed its complaint for condemnation, with the order of condemnation attached. The complaint stated:

ACHD, by this action, seeks to (i) take and condemn a portion of the Property right-of-way, and (ii) obtain a permanent easement on an additional portion of the Property, for a public purpose, namely, alignment, reconstruction, and widening of the North Eagle Road from the Eagle By-Pass to State Street.

The complaint made no mention of condemning access rights to Eagle Road.

Sharp thereafter hired experts to determine the value of her property both before and after the taking and to estimate just compensation. Mark Richey was hired in July and determined that the loss of commercial access rights to Eagle Road substantially impacted the value of her property and determined that just compensation due was $440,000. Roger Wood was also hired around this time and arrived at a similar conclusion; he estimated just compensation at $390,000. consideration the eventual installation of a traffic light at the intersection of Plaza Street and Eagle Road, which would prohibit Sharp from accessing Eagle Road for commercial purposes.

ACHD took the position that the Plaza Street signal was not a part of the Eagle Road widening project and therefore could not be considered in determining the effects on Sharp’s property. A bench trial was held to decide the classification of Eagle Road and whether the Plaza Street signal was a part of the project. At trial, ACHD maintained that no part of Sharp’s right of access was being condemned. As to the effect of the order of condemnation, ACHD’s counsel argued:

All that order of condemnation says is that all rights of access to and from the property are taken except for access if any in the project here and above described. And the project here and above described gave them the same access they already have. Doesn’t say residential access.

Also defense [overlooks] the fact that the complaint which sought to condemn property doesn’t take any access. . . . The plans gave them the same access they have had before the plans were drawn. And as to any future access it would depend on whatever the rules and regulations are.

The district court thereafter issued its findings of fact and conclusions of law, ruling that the order of condemnation was not determinative in deciding whether access had been taken and that no right of access had been condemned under the complaint. The court further concluded that the potential signal light at the intersection of Plaza Street and South Eagle Road was not part of the Project or the construction contract, and did not have any bearing on this case.1 The court also found that the Sharp property had incurred no severance damages as a result of the take. Sharp contested this finding, claiming that the question of severance damages was not an issue at this stage of the condemnation proceedings.

Sharp thereafter filed various motions, asserting that the ACHD’s order of condemnation controlled the definition of the take. The district court summarized this argument by saying:

So you are arguing that the ACHD order of take that predates the filing of the complaint in this action, trumps my conclusions and findings of fact. That’s your argument? . . . I do not accept that argument. My findings of fact trump the order. It is the findings of fact of this court and not the order that defines the take.

Sharp’s motions were denied.

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Click the case caption above for the full text of the Court's opinion.

Outcome: Affirmed.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: Reported by Kent Morlan