After flirting with eminent domain for the second time in a year, this time, commissioners approved and will move forward with plans to use eminent domain to acquire an easement at the corner of Davis and Baxter Lanes.
The city has been trying to widen the two roads and add crosswalks and signals to the intersection. More often than not, owners adjacent to these streets would lose part of their land to the road expansion. Usually, the city and property owners can strike a deal in payment for land, but sometimes owners do not want to give up a piece of their property.
Eminent domain is when a government body forcibly purchases private land from an individual for the overall benefit of the public.
In this case, the owner’s of a 5 acre parcel at 5001 E Baxter Lane, did not want to sell 19,000 square feet of land to the city for the $38,400 dollars offered. When the owner’s did not accept the city’s offer, City Commissioners chose to use eminent domain to force the sale of the land, allowing them to improve the congestion.
Commissioners did say they believed that eminent domain was the only option remaining to them in order to fix the intersection and its heavy traffic. Here lies an example of the growing pains Bozeman will continue to face as it expands.
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