“Complete Streets” Trend May Affect North Carolina Landowners

In 2009, the North Carolina Department of Transportation adopted a “Complete Streets” policy that directs the department to consider and incorporate several modes of transportation when updating existing infrastructure or planning new projects. According to the UNC Highway Safety Research Center, the benefits of this policy include:

  • Improved safety for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians
  • More sustainable communities
  • Making getting from place to place easier
  • Encouraging the use of alternative forms of transportation
  • Making neighborhoods, streets, and mass transit more connected

Not surprisingly, when you design a street for everyone, it’s going to take up more space. The addition of wider sidewalks, bike lanes, dedicated turning lanes, and other characteristics that make a street complete can often widen it significantly—which may cause it to encroach on private property. As a result, complete streets projects inevitably affects landowners, some of whom will find themselves forced off of their property entirely in the name of progress.

If you have found yourself in this situation, we have good news: You have legal rights, and our lawyers are here to help you protect them.

Landowners: You Don’t Have to Take the First Offer You Receive

The power of eminent domain allows the government (or a party authorized by the government) to take privately owned land for public use. To do so, however, the party taking the land must provide the landowner with just compensation for the property.

The government’s power of eminent domain is extremely broad, which means that most attempts to exercise it are upheld by the courts. The only real issue in most eminent domain cases is how much the condemning authority is going to pay the landowner.

If a government representative contacted you about an eminent domain project, you do not need to take the first offer you receive. While it is probably true that you will need to sell at some point, that does not mean that you should take less money than you know that your property is worth. At Sever Storey, we will fight to get you the compensation you deserve and will only collect legal fees if we obtain a settlement or award that is more than your initial offer.

Call Sever Storey Today to Schedule a Free Case Evaluation With a North Carolina Eminent Domain Attorney

If a complete street construction project or any other project that may involve eminent domain affects your property, speak to an attorney as soon as you can. The North Carolina eminent domain attorneys of Sever Storey have more than 25 years of combined experience representing landowners’ rights and know how to get our clients the compensation they deserve for their properties. To schedule a free case evaluation with one of our lawyers, call Sever Storey today at (888) 318-3761 or contact us online.

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