by Katy Knapp
Daily Lobo
The UNM Board of Regents isn't ready to play its ultimate legal hand as it continues to negotiate with landowners for acquisition of property south of The Pit.
At the regents' Feb. 14 meeting, the board rejected Kim Murphy's suggestion that the University make a final offer with the threat of enforcing eminent domain.
Instead, Murphy, who is the director of real estate at the University, has 60 days to continue negotiations. If that fails, he can propose condemnation to the regents at a future meeting.
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Eminent domain, or condemnation, is a legal process that involves UNM taking the landowners to court and asking a judge to force them to accept the amount offered.
Murphy said he could not give the exact price UNM offered each of the landowners, but appraisers have valued the land collectively at $600,000.
The board unanimously voted against the resolution because they did not like the way it was presented.
Regent Jack Fortner said it did not seem the University had done everything it could to negotiate a purchase in good faith.
He said the University should not place a condition on negotiations - either propose condemnation or don't.
"It's like telling the landowner we don't care. We are going to take the land if the negotiation is unsuccessful," he said.
Fortner also said condemnation should only be an option if negotiations are futile. "Eminent domain is never a great idea," he said. "It's something that's a last resort."
For 20 years, UNM has been attempting to acquire 33 plots of land south of The Pit.
Murphy has put in several offers to the landowners in the 16 years he has been in the position, he said.
None of the landowners have been happy with negotiated prices, he said.
Each plot of land is valued differently, depending on terrain and location, he said.
Regent Don Chalmers agreed, telling Murphy his proposition was not solid.
"As it is now, it's kind of etched in Jell-O," he said.
Chalmers said he worries a fair deal won't be put on the table if the threat of condemnation is there.
"It would be not only be difficult to negotiate in good faith, but the effort might not be very strong because all they would do is rely on the authority from the regents to condemn the land," he said.
UNM owns land north and south of Sunshine Terrace. Murphy said in the short term, the University would use the land for additional parking at The Pit. After the land was cleaned up, he said, it could be used for expanding athletic facilities and the Science and Technology Park.
Murphy said the tract of land, which equals 5.5 acres, has never been built on. He said when the Sunshine Terrace plots were created in 1950, they were known as paper subdivisions, which meant people could file for a plot of land to become a subdivision, without building homes on it.
Landowners are now required to improve the plot of land by paving the road and putting in gas and water lines suitable to build homes on it.
Murphy said there has been no improvement to the land.
"Even the owners would not be able to get a permit to build a house on that land," he said.
Murphy said he is fine with the regents' decision to continue negotiations without the possibility of condemnation.
"I've been doing this for so long that I'm at that point (of condemning), but I can understand that this information is brand new to them," he said.
If the property is condemned, the landowners would plea their cases to a federal judge explaining why their property is worth more. The judge can rule in their favor, upping the sale price of the land, or in favor of UNM, forcing the owners to take the $600,000.
Fortner said UNM has to pay fair market value for the land. Those numbers can vary because of different appraisal amounts, which can cause negotiations to take a while, he said.
