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Toll adds up in condemnation rulings vs. city.

Article Excerpt
City officials confirmed they' have paid millions more than expected to build state Route 56 because right-of-way acquisition proved more costly when landowners turned up their noses at the city's appraisal values, resulting in some lawsuits.

That does not include almost $2 million the city spent through December 2003 on litigation involving tracts along the 10-mile stretch of Route 56, a critical east-west link connecting Interstate 5 with Interstate 15. Officials expect to complete the last four miles and open the freeway in July.

To date, the city has spent nearly $19 million more than the value its appraisers placed on property--much of it in the pricey Carmel Valley and Rancho Penasquitos area--taken through the eminent domain process, a right of a government agency to take property for public use. Three cases remain on appeal, and one awaits San Diego City Council approval. The final cost overrun for right-of-way acquisition is not known.

At least one dispute could have been settled for far less outside the courtroom, said Michael Pattinson, president of Carlsbad-based Barratt American Inc. To avoid legal fees and get its money sooner, his real estate development firm tried to negotiate a settlement. Barratt was willing to take $1.2 million...

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