Williamson County Commissioners Court voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize the use of eminent domain to acquire seven parcels of property needed to complete road work.
During the regular meeting, the court approved that six property owners on a combined 3.06 acres of land would be approached using this legal doctrine. The use of eminent domain allows the county to expropriate the private property for public use with payment of compensation.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Terry Cook said the court has reached this point after six-plus months of negotiating with property owners that have yet to be settled.
Negotiations, however, will continue during this process, Williamson County Judge Dan Gattis confirmed.
“I’m not a big fan of doing this but sometimes we just got to do it,” Gattis said.
The acquired property will go toward completing the following roads:
