Lacey council OKs using eminent domain powers to acquire land near important water well
Lacey’s city attorney now has the power to pursue an eminent domain action in court to acquire land near the city’s largest well.
The city council on Tuesday voted 5-1 to give the city attorney that authorization. Mayor Andy Ryder did not vote because he had an excused absence from the meeting.
Before the vote, city attorney Dave Schneider said he isn’t going to immediately pursue an eminent domain petition in Thurston County Superior Court, but will continue to negotiate with two owners of property near the well.
“Eminent domain is a legal process to acquire property that is necessary for public use and public purpose,” Schneider reminded the council.
At issue is land near water well No. 7, which is just east of Saint Martin’s University and north of Pacific Avenue. Originally drilled in 1976, it is the city’s largest well, producing almost 500 million gallons of water out of a total city water well production of 3 billion gallons.
The problem is that the well’s productivity is slowing, despite two efforts to rehabilitate it. A contractor tried in 2019 and another contractor is currently working on the site. The city has determined that land near the existing well has the best chance of becoming another successful well.
That land is owned by two different owners who so far haven’t accepted the city’s offers for the property. One of the owners is Ron Ryder, Mayor Ryder’s father, and the other owner is known through its limited liability company as Firehouse 5608 Partners.
Ryder was offered $346,200 and Firehouse $617,200 for their land, Schneider previously told The Olympian.
Although a majority of council members voted in favor of authorizing the city’s power of eminent domain, some still expressed reservations.
“Taking someone’s property that they don’t want to necessarily sell is a huge undertaking,” said council member Lenny Greenstein, who added that he does feel the city has made a clear case for public use.
However, he urged the city attorney to keep negotiating.
“I want to make sure we exhaust all possible discussions, remedies, everything, before we get to the point of taking this actual action,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Malcolm Miller voted against the authorization, saying he didn’t have enough information to make a decision in favor of it. He wanted to see correspondence between the city and property owners and wanted more information about the property appraisals.
“I’m very protective of people and their property and I like to honor people’s rights,” he said.
Council member Michael Steadman urged a vote in favor of the authorization, saying the need for a new well is about serving the greater good.
“Time is paramount here and we need to trust in the process,” he said.
The city estimated it would take three to five years to get a new well up and running.
This story was originally published June 5, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
