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ST0502A-ES110601 T H E C I T Y O F COPPELL 0 A 6 1 8 June 1, 2011 CABOT II TXILO1 LP 1 Beacon Street Suite 1700 Boston, MA 02108 RE: Freeport Parkway Reconstruction ST 05 -02A Parcel 7 — Permanent Right of Way Dear Property Owner: In January 2009, the City of Coppell sent you an offer letter regarding the purchase of a portion of your land for permanent right of way for the construction of Freeport Parkway. The project was delayed for a couple of years but we are now back on track and moving forward with the project. The City of Coppell is in the process of finalizing the design for the reconstruction of Freeport Parkway from Ruby Road to Sandy Lake Road. This project will consist of removing the current asphalt roadway, and constructing a four lane divided roadway. The project will include reconstruction of the bridge over Cottonwood Branch, the extension of a 12" water line, drainage improvements, and an 8' hike and bike trail from Sandy Lake Road to Wagon Wheel Park. Due to the considerable widening of the road, a significant amount of right of way will be required. With this letter I am attaching several documents. The first is a copy of the Texas Landowner's Bill of Rights. This document outlines your rights as a land owner with respect to the city's acquisition of a portion of your land for permanent right of way. I also included a copy of the plan sheets for the roadway construction adjacent to your property. Finally, I included the right of way documents themselves. Parcel 7 consists of 566 square feet of land. The city's typical approach to purchasing land from adjacent property owners is based on the value determined by the Dallas County Appraisal District. The appraisal district lists the value of your land at $2.50 per square foot. The City of Coppell is offering you $1,415.00 at this rate (566 square feet x $2.50 /sf) for acquisition of the portion of your property depicted in the attached exhibits. Construction is scheduled to start during 2012, and the city needs to acquire this property as soon as possible. We would like to discuss this with you at your earliest convenience. A FAMILY COMMUNITY FOR A LIFETIME 255 PARKWAY * P.O. BOX 9478 * COPPELL TX 75019 * TEL 972/462 0022 * WWW.COPPELLTX.GOV Your consideration of this matter is appreciated, and if you have any questions, please contact Michael Garza or Ken Griffin. Sincerely, Michael Garza, E.I.T Kenneth M. Griffin, P.E. Graduate Engineer Director of Engineering Office 972/304 -3679 Office 972/304 -3686 Fax 972/304 -3570 Fax 972/304 -7041 mgarza @coppelltx.gov kgriffin @coppelltx.gov Enclosures e. � '•••. P'� E o'% l �•. A )0/> • O. THE STATE OF TEXAS LAN 11 OWNE 9S BILL OF RIGHTS PREPARED BY THE • � + t ` � . / \ *?'EXP0.4 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS tt;\ This Landowner's Bill of Rights applies to any attempt by the government or a private entity to take your property. The contents of this Bill of Rights are prescribed by the Texas Legislature in Texas Government Code Sec. 402.031 and Chapter 21 of the Texas Property Code. 1. You are entitled to receive adequate compensation 8. You may hire an attorney to negotiate with the if your property is taken for a public use. condemning entity and to represent you in any legal proceedings involving the condemnation. 2. Your property can only be taken for a public use. 9. Before your property is condemned, you are entitled 3. Your property can only be taken by a governmental to a hearing before a court appointed panel that entity or private entity authorized by law to do so. includes three special commissioners. The special 4. The entity that wants to take your property must commissioners must determine the amount of notify you about its interest in taking your property. compensation the condemning entity owes for the taking of your property. The commissioners must 5. The entity proposing to take your property must also determine what compensation, if any, you are provide you with an assessment of the adequate entitled to receive for any reduction in value of your compensation for your property. remaining property. 6. The entity proposing to take your property must 10. If you are unsatisfied with the compensation make a good faith offer to buy the property before awarded by the special commissioners, or if you it files a lawsuit to condemn the property. question whether the taking of your property was proper, you have the right to a trial by a judge or 7. You may hire an appraiser or other professional to jury. If you are dissatisfied with the trial court's determine the value of your property or to assist you in any condemnation proceeding. judgment, you may appeal that decision. CONDEMNATION PROCEDURE Eminent Domain is the ability of certain entities to take private property for a public use. Private property can include land and certain improvements that are on that property. Private property may only be taken by a governmental entity or private entity authorized by law to do so. Your property may be taken only for a public use. That means it can only be taken for a purpose or use that serves the general public. However, Texas law prohibits condemnation authorities from taking your property to enhance tax revenues or foster economic development. Your property cannot be taken without adequate compensation. Adequate compensation includes the market value of the property being taken. It may also include certain damages, if any, to your remaining property caused by the acquisition itself or by the way the condemning entity will use the property. HOW THE TAKING PROCESS BEGINS The taking of private property by eminent domain must follow certain procedures. First, the entity that wants to condemn your property must provide you a copy of this Landowner's Bill of Rights before or at the same time the entity first represents in any manner to you that it possesses eminent domain authority. Second, if it has not been previously provided, the condemning entity must send this Landowner's Bill of Rights to the last known address of the person in whose name the property is listed on the most recent tax roll at least seven days before the entity makes a final offer to acquire your property. Third, the condemning entity must make a good faith offer to purchase the property. The condemning entity's offer must be based on an investigation and an assessment of adequate compensation for the property. At the time the offer is made, the governmental condemning entity must disclose any appraisal reports it used to determine the value of its offer to acquire the property. You have the right to either accept or reject the offer made by the condemning entity. CONDEMNATION PROCEEDINGS If you and the condemning entity do not agree on the value of the property being taken, the entity may begin condemnation proceedings. Condemnation is the legal process for the taking of private property. It begins with a condemning entity filing a claim for your property in court. If you live in a county where part of the property being condemned is located, the claim must be filed in that county. Otherwise, the claim can be filed in any county where at least part of the property being condemned is located. The claim must describe the property being condemned, the intended public use, the name of the landowner, a statement that the landowner and the condemning entity were unable to agree on the value of the property, and that the condemning entity provided the landowner with the Landowner's Bill of Rights statement. SPECIAL COMMISSIONERS' HEARING After the condemning entity files a claim in court, the judge will appoint three landowners to serve as special commissioners. These special commissioners must live in the county where the condemnation proceeding is filed, and they must take an oath to assess the amount of adequate compensation fairly, impartially, and according to the law. The special commissioners are not authorized to decide whether the condemnation is necessary or if the public use is proper. After being appointed, the special commissioners must schedule a hearing at the earliest practical time and place and provide you written notice of that hearing. You are required to disclose to the governmental condemning entity, at least ten days before the special commissioners' hearing, any appraisal reports used to determine your opinion about adequate compensation for the property. You may hire an appraiser or real estate professional to help your determine the value of your private property. You may also hire an attorney regarding these proceedings. At the hearing, the special commissioners will consider evidence on the value of the property, the damages to remaining property, any value added to the remaining property as a result of the project, and the uses to be made of the property being taken. SPECIAL COMMISSIONERS' AWARD After hearing evidence from all interested parties, the special commissioners will determine the amount of money to be awarded as adequate compensation. You may be responsible for the costs if the Award is less than or equal to the amount the condemning entity offered before the condemnation proceeding began. Otherwise, the condemning entity will be responsible for the costs. The special commissioners will give a written decision to the court that appointed them. That decision is called the "Award." The Award must be filed with the court and the court must send written notice of the Award to all parties. After the Award is filed, the condemning entity may take possession of the property being condemned, even if either party appeals the Award of the special commissioners. To take possession of the property, the condemning entity must either pay you the amount of the Award or deposit the amount of the Award into the registry of the court. You have the right to withdraw the deposited funds from the registry of the court. OBXECTIION TO THE SPECIAL COMM ]ISSJtONERS' AWARD If either you or the condemning entity is dissatisfied with the amount of the Award, either party can object to the Award by filing a written statement of objection with the court. If neither party timely objects to the Award, the court will adopt the Award as the final judgment of the court. If a party timely objects to the special commissioners' Award, the court will hear the case in the same manner as other civil cases. If you object to the Award and ask the court to hear the matter, you have the right to a trial by judge or jury. The allocation of costs is handled in the same manner as with the special commissioners' Award. After that trial, either party may appeal any judgment entered by the court. DISMISSAL OF THE CONDEMNATION ACTION A condemning entity may file a motion to dismiss the condemnation proceeding if it decides it no longer needs your property. If the court grants the motion to dismiss, the case is over and you are entitled to recover reasonable and necessary fees for attorneys, appraisers, photographers, and for other expenses incurred to the date of the hearing on the motion to dismiss. You may also file a motion to dismiss the condemnation proceeding on the ground that the condemning entity did not have the right to condemn the property, including a challenge as to whether the property is being taken for a public use. If the court grants your motion, the court may award you reasonable and necessary fees for attorneys, appraisers, photographers, and for other expenses incurred to the date of the hearing or judgment. RELOCATION COSTS If you are displaced from a residence or place of business, you may be entitled to reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred while moving personal property from the residence or relocating the business to a new site. You are not entitled to these relocation costs if they are recoverable under another law. If you are entitled to these costs, they cannot exceed the market value of the property being moved and can only be reimbursed for moving distances within 50 miles. RECLAMATI[O OPTIONS If private property was condemned by a governmental entity, and the purpose for which the property was acquired is canceled before the 10th anniversary of the date of the acquisition, you may have the right to seek to repurchase the property for the fair market value of the property at the time the public use was canceled. This provision does not apply to property acquired by a county, a municipality, or the Texas Department of Transportation. DISCLAIMER The information in this statement is intended to be a summary of the applicable portions of Texas state law as required by HB 1495, enacted by the 80th Texas Legislature, Regular Session. This statement is not legal advice and is not a substitute for legal counsel. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Further information regarding the procedures, timelines and requirements outlined in this document can be found in Chapter 21 of the Texas Property Code. RFV 08/10