Jon AndersonBy Jon Anderson
The Bridge accurately reported that I and several of my neighbors oppose the right-of-way survey of East State Street in Montpelier, which is required for the sorely needed infrastructure project there. The survey, by Day Land Surveying of St. Albans (the “Day Survey”), has the city of Montpelier acquiring the front yard and parts of seven historic buildings on East State Street. It takes more property from homeowners on East State Street than the city of Montpelier has ever claimed to own in this neighborhood in the 150 years since the street was laid out.
The boundary between my property at 76 East State Street and the city’s right of way was marked by iron pins when I bought it over 40 years ago. The Day Survey claims to extend this boundary by about 16 feet, across my front yard and into my building. In other cases, the Day Survey would extend East State Street through the living rooms of buildings built more than 125 years ago. We can find no support for this survey, which is contradicted by all available evidence.
Our only concern is the survey. We support the proposed design of the project. Over two years ago, the city council directed the project be designed within what we understood to be the boundaries of East State Street, avoiding major property transfers.
Regrettably, city staff ignored the city council’s direction. Staff commissioned the Day Survey and filed that survey in the land records of Montpelier without requesting any action by the city council to adopt that survey.
Except for a small sliver of land one neighbor is willing to convey to the city, the city needs to present an uncontested survey to the federal agency (USDA) before that agency releases its $5 million grant for the project. The city proposes to do so using the Day Survey.
Given the huge loss to us if the city takes our land and parts of our buildings, my neighbors and I must oppose using the Day Survey to take our land. If the Day Survey is not withdrawn, we will be compelled to begin legal proceedings that could take years to resolve.
A public works project of this size will incur six- and seven-figure price escalation if delayed. Neighbors do not want that result, nor do Montpelier taxpayers.
Even if litigation concludes that the city can take our land, which we doubt, the city will likely owe us more than a million dollars in damages for the loss of our front yards and substantial encroachments into seven valuable buildings.
The city can avoid delays and expenses if we all agree to accept the current boundaries of East State Street, which my neighbors and I are prepared to do. We have repeatedly offered this resolution to the city, which now has five well-paid professionals, including two lawyers, the public works director, the city manager, and the surveyor working on the issue. The city has so far failed even to return our phone calls to discuss a resolution.
The neighbors ask the city council to assert its authority to direct staff to submit a survey that claims only what we have always understood to be the Street. This will permit the much-needed East State Street project to proceed without delay and without unnecessary and expensive litigation and potential landowners’ compensation.
Jon Anderson owns property in Montpelier, but lives in St. Augustine, Florida.
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