Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Eminent domain and my pond and my trees. HELP!!!!

I have a 5 acre pond that has 150 30 foot tall trees I planted spanning one entire side of the pond. The trees are there as a windbreak/sound barrier/privacy fence etc. from the highway it is next to. A power company is going to use eminent domain and take out all my trees and put 2 enormous poles 8 feet in diameter and 30 feet deep right next to my pond. I need a consultant to help me value the trees and loss of value of my pond and 15 acres it is on and any effects the electric wires may have on the fish, fishing or pond structure. HELP!!

Sorry to hear that.

Let's see what others have to say.

Member 'catmandoo' has had extensive dealings with a Power Company and his land/ponds.

Look for Catmandoo. He ran across the eminent domain problem a few years ago. He can give you excellent advice. I'll see if I can get him to chime in here too.

edit:
Sunil, great minds think alike!

Wow, are they trying to buy the property or asking for an easement. Short answer is a good real estate appraiser.

For tree value, there are a lot of variables. Talk to a landscape company, arborist, your insurance agent (tree replacement value) or a company that has a large tree spade that transplants trees.

i.e. A tree on a city lot is much more valuable than a tree in the middle of the forest.

Also take a look into what people are getting for leasing their land (or renting their land) for cell phone towers.

It's not the value of the trees to concern yourself with but loss of value of the property.

Great suggestions! Please keep them coming.

Reading your post makes me feel like I just ate a batch of spoiled food.

My first advice would be to find out if an organization has been established to provide landowner advice and protection. When I was going through this, there were two such groups. One was a quasi-news blog, where we were kept informed of nearly every move being made. The other was basically a lobbying group that met with the power company, state, and federal officials. They also held regular meetings.

Being very active here on Pond Boss prior to this gut wrenching adventure was invaluable. I had the advice of the Pond Boss himself, Bob Lusk. I received advice from a land use attorney who is a fellow moderator. And, we had an active Pond Boss member (and very close personal friend because of Pond Boss) who is a West Virginia lawyer. My wife and I refused to talk to the power company without his presence, even if it was via a phone conference when we were meeting face-to-face with the power company representatives.

In our case, there was a lot of opposition to the new powerline for good reason. I was one of many who already had a major powerline right-of-way that is 150'x1500 feet. It has been there since the early 1960s and provide power to the local northern Virginia area.

The new powerline was going to take a 1200 x 1500 foot right of way, which was going to require taking our entire property. We were in limbo for about three years. We couldn't sell. We quit doing improvements. The neighbors next to us went bankrupt during this time, as he and his wife were getting a divorce. They were to go to settlement on the sale of their home the day before the Power Company announcement was made. The buyers backed out immediately. The house, property, and outbuildings were worth about $200,000 to $225,000. The power company bought it in foreclosure for $96,000.

This was a very controversial powerline because it was to provide power to New Jersey using coal-fired power plants in West Virginia. While this was happening, many other things were happening also.

The powerline that has been on our property for nearly 60 years was ready for a major upgrade, which was approved by the state and the feds. It upgraded the line from approximately a 500,000 volt line to approximately a 750,000 volt line, but with much higher efficiency. It meant all new towers and all new lines. The new towers are about 30-35 feet higher than the old towers. The new system causes far less issues in my garden, the pond under the power lines, and far less power line noise for my amateur radio hobby. Their power from fossil fuels continues to be lessened continuously as they continue their push for renewable energy. A trip from my pond to Sunil's pond allows a view of the many hundreds, maybe thousands, of slowly turning windmills high on ridges of the Appalachians.

At the same time this was happening, Google and some other large companies announced they were going to be putting in off-shore infrastructure for wind energy about 20 miles offshore from the Virginia/North Carolina border to the New York/New Jersey border.

These announcements killed the project that was supposed to go through my land. The decision was announced three days before we were to have a major pow-wow at my place. Lusk was here. LaNeve was here. So were others. I'd already had the value of my forest surveyed by someone that Todd LaNeve recommended.

So instead, we had a Pond Boss gathering and party.

Unfortunately, over about a three year period it cost us big time in many ways, especially financially and mentally.

I don't have a basic problem with utilities/energy distribution. I have a problem when it is done using a very authoritarian method.

It is a very complicated issue. Here is a Wisconsin case involving my former neighbors and my niece-by-marriage. The neighbors were the losing more of their property. My niece was the voice of the utility. Everybody knew everybody else fairly well, including the sheriff and is deputies. It is a very small community.
Wisconsin Court of Appeals

The landowners kind of won. But, it was a painful process that split families.

There are no easy answers. It will take some strong willed people to make this situation palatable. You may not be able to stop it, but you may be able to keep them from taking your trees, ruining your privacy, and killing your pond.

Start talking to everybody you know, especially the politicians.

Good Luck,
Ken

Ken, can you post a link the thread that covered your case from a few years back?

Here is a link to the main thread regarding my eminent domain fiasco Losing it all to a new power line.

There was also a lot of behind-the-scenes communication, a lot of phone conversations, and many road/sky trips. I figure it cost us about $50,000 by the time it was mostly done.

It was one of several simultaneous very serious and time/money consuming issues that still has me in psychotherapy and on prescription drugs that I'd rather not be be taking.

All I can offer as advice is to get good lawyers and getting your community/neighbors involved. It unfortunately takes one heck of a lot of time. It produces extreme amounts of stress that leads to nasty anxiety. It also drains your savings accounts.

During our crisis, I really want to thank the entire Pond Boss group, from Bob Lusk on down. They helped in more ways than I could ever possibly describe.

The Pond Boss family was incredibly supportive of my health issues resulting from this, and several other extremely stressful life situations that sucked the life out of my wife and me for several years.

We are both a lot better now. We mostly have our health back. We built a second pond within a short time after the announced eminent domain closure. The new pond is almost scary. The Hybrid Bluegill are exceedingly vicious, and have grown far beyond our expectations. The channel cats have also grown way faster than I expected. Feeding time is like a high speed demolition derby.


Keep your chin up, life can be good.
Ken

Cat, I empathize with you on the expense and health issues! Feeling powerless to keep your land, and still deal with other life issues, indeed, sucks the life out of you.

I still feel like throwing up any time I get close to the land we were locked out of...The money and dreams lost were huge!

Dr Terry, I wish you all the best in this!

Brief Hijack:



Mind your step when walking around the pond edges. One unfortunate slip is all it takes.

I fish this pond 12 months a year and was ice fishing in -15 degrees in my ice hut next to these trees to stay out of the wind this winter. I know I'm going to lose the trees and my wind break, I just want to make sure I don't get hosed on what they pay me. I was hoping someone on here was an Arborist or a landscaper with eminent domain experience that could help me out with a value?

Ken, I just read the original post on your experience. I wondered how many people had the neither the resources, or tenacity to fight something like that. I'm sorry you went through that, but I'm happy it ultimately worked out for you.

Years ago, I had a cousin who lost 100 acres to the Sabine River Authority for a floodplain during new lake construction. What frustrated him the most was that SRA as much as admitted the land would never see water. They "needed" it for the 100 year floodplain. The value of the property to him went far beyond money.

Dr. Terry, good luck with all this.

At the least talk to your attorney. You can let the company know you have one it should help.