ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The City of St. Augustine has filed an eminent domain lawsuit against the owners of two properties over a dispute involving a flood mitigation and drainage improvement project in the city.
In the civil lawsuit filed June 16, the city claims the easement of the land sought to be acquired is necessary for the public use and welfare, and specifically for the purposes of the Lake Maria Sanchez Flood Mitigation and Drainage Improvements Project.
The parcels involved are located on Marine Street and Hedrick Street near Lincolnville and a total of four people are listed as owners.
The lawsuit claims the city has been unable to acquire the easement by negotiated sale and purchase despite “good faith efforts.”
The city said the project is a Florida Department of Environmental Protection-funded project that is expected to significantly reduce existing flooding conditions.
“The project’s actually been on the design docket since 2016 Hurricane Matthew hit the city pretty hard, and so we had city-wide flooding,” explained Jessica Beach, St. Augustine’s deputy director for Public Works and Utilities. “So this is actually one of the city’s largest flood mitigation projects that we’ve been working on.”
A number of strategies will be used, the city said, including substantial upgrades to the stormwater system (south of King Street) on Granada, Cordova, and Bridge Streets, down to the lake. A new stormwater pump station will also be constructed on the lake’s south end, and a new flood wall will also be built on the south end of the project, near where the two properties are located.
Additionally, several tide check valves (or “one-way” valves) will be installed in stormwater pipe outfalls.
“We cannot prevent this type of flooding without this type of project, where the flood walls [serve as a] critical piece to be able to make the project work,” Beach said. “You’re looking at over 200 acres of the core of the city’s historic downtown. And so we have over 186 structures that are historic [and] are currently flooding or at flood risk. So there are economic benefits, benefits to our residents, commercial properties, you name it.”
The case is moving through St. Johns County court.
News4JAX attempted to contact the owners, but when we arrived at an address listed as their residence, no one answered the door.
Eminent domain has long been used in the United States to acquire property and is defined as the power of the government to take away someone’s private property for public use, with “just compensation.”
