By Julie Tomascik
Associate Editor
About 95 percent of the land in Texas is privately owned, leaving landowners facing a tough battle when eminent domain proceedings are brought to their front door.
But a growing coalition of agricultural and landowner organizations, Texans for Property Rights, is working for eminent domain reform in the upcoming legislative session.
Part of those reform efforts includes a provision on the valuation of easements.
“The valuation of easements is an important component of our eminent domain reform package, because it helps landowners receive fair market value for their land being taken,” Marissa Patton, Texas Farm Bureau associate legislative director, said. “The Texas courts have long defined market value as “the price the property will bring when offered for sale by one who desires to sell, but is not obligated to sell, and is bought by one who desires to buy, but is under no necessity of buying.”
Under current law, however, evidence of sales of freely negotiated comparable easements are usually not admissible in condemnation proceedings.
“Our valuation of easements provision will fix this,” Patton said. “It changes the law to require the court to admit evidence on the price paid for pipeline or power line right-of-way in privately negotiated transactions made in the absence of condemnation authority.”
This is just one piece of the eminent domain reform Texas Farm Bureau and other organizations in the coalition are working toward for fairness for landowners.
“Making this valuation of easements change to the evidentiary process, coupled with our proposal of condemnors reimbursing landowner court costs and expenses, goes a long way to ensure landowners are fairly compensated for the property they’re being forced to sell,” Patton said. “Making these changes would hopefully incentivize condemnors to make more fair offers up front.”
For more information on eminent domain reform, visit texansforpropertyrights.com.
txdot is trying to take my land now in Corsicana tx. they say my land is no good since its near a creek and low but it has beautiful tree on it cause it gets enough water. if you have any ideas to get a fair price please let me know. thanks
A big problem is remainder value of the property that has an easment on it. This is difficult to assess but almost realtors think an easement has a negative effect on the remaining land value.
a simple solution would be royalties paid to the landowner with title, that is , the royalty would stay with the property.
J R Strawn MD
jstrawnmd@aol.com