MJUSD eminent domain case settles

A tentative settlement has been reached in an eminent domain case involving land in Linda that property owners had said is worth $3.1 million but that the Marysville Joint Unified School District values at $770,000.

A trial in the eminent domain case involving the 70 acres on Hammonton-Smartville Road near Yuba College is scheduled June 7 in Yuba County Superior Court.

Marysville Joint Unified plans to build the East Linda Intermediate School — replacing the now-closed Alicia school — at the site.

Attorney Brian Manning, representing landowners, had stated in a court filing before the tentative settlement was reached Wednesday that the school district's case "rests on the theory that this property would be purchased for agricultural development."

No demand exists for residential use of the 70 acres, Manning said of Marysville Joint Unified's position.

But Manning added that in an eminent domain case — involving a government agency taking land and jurors deciding its value — that "owners are not required to show actual active demand."

"All that is necessary is potential demand," he said.

The attorney added that developer Gerry Kamilos in a 2009 eminent domain case, involving the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority and levee work, said he was buying property for residential housing he expected to take place in 2011 or next year. Kamilos was among witnesses listed for the defense.

Attorney Paul Thompson, who represents the school district, could not be reached for comment about Manning's statements.

Sutter County Assessor Todd Retzloff, an appraiser and real estate broker who was elected assessor last June, was also among witnesses listed by landowners in the eminent domain trial. He said Wednesday that, "If they call me I'll be glad to tell them what I know."

"But I really don't know much about that area," Retzloff said of the Yuba County site.

CONTACT reporter Ryan McCarthy at 749-4780.