Pierce County looks to condemn Buckley property

Published 3:33 pm Monday, November 3, 2014

Pierce County has begun the final stages in acquiring the land the county stated it needs to finish the Foothills Trail in East Pierce County. The Pierce County Council voted unanimously Oct. 21 to begin the condemnation process of the last four properties the county wants to acquire to finish the trail.

According Pierce County Park Director Tony Tipton, one of the reasons for starting the condemnation process was because negotiations have stalled with two of the four property owners. One of those landowners is Buckley resident Doug Dickson.

Dickson said that he is not interested in selling his land to the county.

“I moved to the county to enjoy it,” he said. “I don’t have much of a choice anymore. But if I have to sell it I need fair market value.”

Condemning land is part of the eminent domain process, where a governing body can claim land for the public good – in this case, the Foothills Trail, which has been under construction for more than 25 years. The land the county is interested in, currently owned by Dickson, is a berm, or raised land bridge, that pedestrians can cross to avoid a water drainage area.

At the end of the condemnation process, a judge or jury will determine the value of the land and require the county to pay Dickson the appropriate amount. The condemnation process can end at any time if both parties reach a settlement.

The county plans to use the berm to connect the Foothills Trail that starts in Puyallup and splits to end in Buckley, Wilkeson and Carbonado. Unfortunately for Dickson, that berm is also in his front yard. Only a few bushes and trees separate the berm from the rest of the yard, and when the trail is finished, it’ll be within a couple hundred feet from his front door.

One of the reasons negotiations have stalled for the county purchasing the land is because of the difference is perceived value of it. Dickson’s notes of his conversations with Pierce County Right of Way Supervisor Jeff Wong indicate that the county offered salvage value for his land – in other words, the land is near or at the end of its useful life, and has much less value than market or real cash value.

Dickson strongly believes the berm is not salvage because it is the only way pedestrians can cross the drainage area below.

“(The berm) is the base upon which they will put the trail on,” he said. “So don’t tell me that it’s not going to be used.”

The Courier Herald has requested public information documents from Pierce County to confirm the county’s assessed value of Dickson’s land.

Dickson’s last offer to the county was $403,462. The berm carried the majority of the cost, offered at $315,450, which Dickson claims is the actual cash value of the berm. The second largest charge is for the loss of privacy in Dickson’s front yard. For this, Dickson asked for $52,000.

Tipton said the county offered slightly more than $150,000 to Dickson, which Dickson declined. At that point, the county started considering condemning Dickson’s land.

The only part of Dickson’s land that the county can condemn is the berm itself – the southern slope of the berm cannot be included in the condemnation process. “When we go through the condemnation process, we can only condemn what we absolutely need,” said Tipton. “We don’t have to own the slope to build the trail,” so it can’t be condemned.

In order to ensure that the southern slope stays in place for the berm, however, the county is planning on acquiring an easement that will allow the county to use the land, even though it is owned by Dickson. Tipton said that because the county would be the operator of the trail, the county would be responsible for what happens on the train and the southern slope.

Acquiring an easement is also cheaper than purchasing the land outright.

Another reason the county started the condemnation process is because the trail is eligible for a $2.75 million state grant, which Tipton said would cover half of the $5.5 million the county estimates it will cost to finish the trail.

“One of the (grant) requirements is that the county has possession and tenure of the property,” said Hugh Taylor, a Pierce County senior legislative transportation analyst. Taylor explained that the condemnation process takes about a year, so this month “was the latest point in time the council could make a decision to get the grand funds for next year.”