Condemnation Lawsuits Remain on Interchange

SPRINGDALE — Pending lawsuits related to land condemnation for the Interstate 540 interchange at Don Tyson Parkway mean city officials are still uncertain as to the exact cost of the project.

Eight lawsuits are pending, but “hopefully, the process will not take too much time,” said Mayor Doug Sprouse.

“Once we have appraisals from the property owners, we can do everything we can to negotiate a settlement,” Spouse said. “If one does go all the way through the court, I hope that is completed quickly. I think that would be best for both parties.”

Quick resolutions would help property owners receive their money sooner, Sprouse said. It would also allow officials determine the exact cost of the interchange.

Money for the interchange comes from a bond sale approved by voters, and it can only be used for street projects, Sprouse said. Any savings on the interchange would be directed to other projects.

Federal money is also involved in the project.

Two of the eight lawsuits are pending against one owner. Victory Church of Northwest Arkansas had property on the east and west sides of Interstate 540. The interchange will connect the parkway along Oaklawn Drive, east of I-540 to Dearing Road on the west.

The lawsuits involve 21 parcels of land and affect right of way acquisition, said Patsy Christie, planning and community development director. The percentage of parcels going to condemnation is much higher than in the last Springdale street construction program, Christie said.

“The last one, we used all local money,” Christie said. “Since the interchange is on a federal facility, and we are getting some federal money, we have to follow the federal Uniform Relocation Act. That limits our negotiations with property owners.”

The city must have a reason to spend more money than the value provided by property appraisals, said Ernest Cate, city attorney. Usually that is done by the property owners hiring their own appraisers to set a value for their losses, he said.

“We are waiting for the property owners’ appraisals,” Cate said. “That’s the next step.”

The problem isn’t entirely the result of federal regulations, said Stephen Lisle, an attorney representing landowners in five of the condemnation cases.

“The appraisals seem uncommonly low,” Lisle said. “Some of them are less than what is owed on the mortgage for property.”

That would indicate that property values in the area have dropped. Most of the landowners feel the value of their property has gone up, Lisle said.

The landowners are in the process of hiring appraisers, Lisle said, but the task has been difficult, .

“The city hires an appraiser to do all of theirs at once,” Lisle said. “We have to go out and find one.”

A lot of construction is planned in Northwest Arkansas, and, as a result, most appraisers are busy, Lisle said.

“We’re trying to move as fast as we can,” Lisle said.

The only appraisal which has been submitted, Cate said, is for a parcel owned by Richard and Carol Lane. The long strip of land runs along the east side of I-540 and was appraised at $708,000 by the city’s appraisal firm and $1.2 million by the landowners’ appraiser.

Twelve buildings will be removed as a result of the construction of the interchange, according to a demolition study by Garver Engineering. Three are classified as houses, three as outbuildings and six as buildings that are not residences.

One of the buildings is a 16,398-square-foot church once owned by Victory Church. The church has moved to Ozark Center Point Place, the shopping center located near the intersection of I-540 and U.S. 412. The church will have to relocate again when its new church is built in Tontitown.

Lisle represents the church in its condemnation proceedings. Lisle has asked all his clients not to comment about the case, he said.