Joe Myers Ford is one business along Hwy. 290 in Jersey Village that lost property during frontage road construction and utility pipeline relocation.[/caption]
The expansion of Hwy. 290 in the Jersey Village area is encroaching on a handful of property owners, several of whom have had to surrender tracts of land.
A Joe Myers dealership is among the landowners that were hit hardest in the ongoing process of building frontage roads and relocating water and sewer pipelines.
“It’s a considerable amount of land that we lost,” said Carolyn Cross, general manager with Joe Myers Ford. “We lost over 300 parking spaces. It’s a daily battle trying to keep our entrances open.”
Jersey Village was required by the Texas Department of Transportation to acquire the land through settlements or use of eminent domain to keep the project moving forward, City Manager Mike Castro said. Eminent domain allows the city to purchase private property for public projects, such as the TxDOT-funded highway widening.
“I think we have gone as long as we can go before we start to acquire properties,” Castro said at a January council meeting, when eminent domain was initially being considered. “This will be taxing for the city, so it would be great if we could do this responsibly and quickly.”
Utility relocation within city limits has been divided into two segments. Work in Segment 6, which runs east of Jersey Drive, was completed earlier this year. Work along Segment 7, west of Jersey Drive, is where eminent domain now comes into play.
Jersey Village City Council approved the use of eminent domain to acquire a total of 1.76 acres across 18 tracts at a June 22 special session and another 1.06 acres across 11 tracts at a July 20 session. The council was able to approve settlements for four of those tracts—0.26 acres—at its Aug. 17 meeting.
City officials were able to settle on several properties owned by Kensinger Properties Limited. Tracts being taken are generally narrow strips at the front of each property facing the highway.
City officials expect to move forward with utility relocation this fiscal year, which began in September. Segment 6 was funded entirely from reserves, Castro said, but the city had to take out $8 million in certificates of obligation to fund work in Segment 7. That cost is reflected in the fiscal year 2015-16 budget— adopted Sept. 21—as an additional $8 million in expenditures. How much the city will actually have to spend, however remains to be seen.
“We have not settled on what property costs will be with the purchases associated with that utility construction,” Castro said. “I am reluctant to give a figure to council at this time. We are dependent on the condemnation courts, and we have many dozens of properties to get through.”
City officials are engaged with TxDOT to ensure the $8 million is reimbursed.
“TxDOT, in its willingness to get the project moving, has settled quickly and expensively for lots along Hwy. 290,” Castro said. “Timely reimbursement from TxDOT is a top priority for this city and my staff.”
