Supervisors use eminent domain for 25th parcel

The number of properties being forcibly acquired by the county has climbed to 25.

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday morning to use eminent domain after the owners of the property in North Visalia reportedly stopped responding to purchase price offers. Supervisors said it would be in the best interest of the public to acquire the land for the widening of Road 108 — which will be widened in sections to relieve traffic volumes projected to double in 20 years.

It will now be up to the court to decide the purchase price.

The land is located along the east and west sides of Road 108, north of Avenue 336, and belongs to Floyd and Gail Kampen.

Construction for the Road 108 project being funded with a combination of Measure R, California Proposition 1B Transportation Bond Program and potential American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars, but in order to receive some of the allocation the county needs, the county must be prepared to break ground.