11 more parcels grabbed for Road 80 project

The amount of land being seized by the county to further widening Road 80 continues to grow.

After failing to agree on a purchase price with landowners, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Wednesday to begin the eminent domain process for 11 parcels, the values of which will now be left for the courts to determine.

Both parties, however, will continue to negotiate until the court reaches a decision.

“It’s a difficult decision to make, but the necessity is there,” Supervisor, Dist. 2, Pete Vander Poel said.

County staff argued that without these parcels the Road 80 Project would be incomplete. The undertaking consists of widening Road 80 from two lanes to four lanes and creating a dividing center median from Goshen Avenue in Visalia to Avenue 416 in Dinuba that will improve traffic flow, alleviate flooding and improve access to Dinuba.

Acquiring the parcels, most of which are about half an acre, will allow the county to move along with the project that must adhere to a tight deadline if it is to receive state funding.

Property owners who objected were frustrated with how the county has handled the acquisition process that began in 2008, saying there has been a lack of communication that have left many of their concerns unresolved.

Most of their contentions lie with the county’s contracted negotiator, Universal Field Services, which they say failed to provide them with details on purchase prices associated with the purchases.

“There has been plenty of time to address these issues and reach a decision,” land owner Dan Griffieon said.

In addition, many of the land owners operate dairies, which could be subject to purchasing new pricey permits when their acreage changes.

The size of their farms is essential to complying with waste management standards implemented by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, which requires farmers to measure the daily volume of wastewater and manure, the total animal population at their facilities, the location and size of their disposals fields and their animal capacity.

“We have to consider not just the value of the land that has been lost and the current value of the animals that has been lost, but also the value that those animals would have added to that business,” Vander Poel said.

Pushing Universal Field Services aside as a result of all the complaints, county staff is now negotiating directly with the landowners. Vander Poel urged them to compensate dairy owners for the costs associated with water permits.
Since the Road 80 Project began about 10 years ago, sales-price agreements have been reached with nearly 90 other landowners, and eminent domain has been used on three additional parcels.

Dinuba resident Fareed Odeh Saphieh is at risk of losing his store and home between South Q Street and West Kern Street. On Tuesday, Supervisors will assess whether or not to use eminent domain on his property.

“After you take the store, I have no job, I have nothing,” Saphieh said. “But if you want to take the store and the road, leave me the house.”

Contact Jenna Chandler at 784-5000, Ext. 1050, or jchandler@portervillerecorder.com.