Honolulu Rail Takings

In "189 Hawaii properties in transit's path," the Honolulu Advertiser's Sean Hao writes about the potential use of eminent domain to take private property along the path of Honolulu's proposed $4B rail transit project:

Some landowners in the path of the new rail line, who may have little choice but to sell to the city, are not pleased with the potential eviction and complain that the process so far has left them in the dark.

The city, which has budgeted $70 million to purchase land needed to build the rail system, will offer property owners fair market value for their land based on an appraisal. That could prove controversial as some owners challenge the appraised value.

The article notes that the City's web site has listed these properties for more than a year, but the information is difficult to locate, so many of the owners were not aware their properties may be acquired.  The amount the City has budgeted -- $70 million -- may be an unrealistic estimate:

Fighting the city on property condemnation is not easy. Because mass transit serves a public purpose, there's little preventing the city from acquiring property needed to build it, said Robert Thomas, managing attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation's Hawaii Center, which lobbies for property owner rights. The U.S. Constitution allows local government to take private property if there is a compelling public interest in doing so.

"Right now, it looks like the chances of a fight on whether they can take this land is pretty remote," Thomas said. "There's very little standing in the way."

Once the acquisition process starts, the city will determine the fair market value for properties and offer to pay owners that amount, the city said. If landowners refuse to sell, the city may condemn the property.

The key battles between property owners and the city will be over what constitutes fair value for the lands being acquired, Thomas said. That decision will hinge on when the property assessments are made.

"The critical piece in the puzzle is, when are we valuing this?" he said. "The owner could claim a higher valuation, if it's an earlier date, especially if it's a slightly declining market." However, "If our economy is going the way people think it's going, then property values are going down, which could benefit the city's acquisition prices," Thomas added.

Read the complete Advertiser article (plus reader comments) here.

In a similar vein, last year, UH Law professor David Callies, Honolulu attorney Vernon Woo, and I were guests on Jay Fidell's KHPR program on the topic of Honolulu rail, and the development and land use issues sure to surround the project.  Audio of the show is available here.