×

Home owner in legal battle with airport

ELKINS — A local woman says she is “fighting mad” and “fighting back” against the Elkins-Randolph County Regional Airport Authority’s attempts to obtain easement rights to her property through eminent domain.

“This is the highest form of bullying I’ve ever been through,” Linda Little told The Inter-Mountain this week.

Little, whose home is on Silver Fox Drive, owns more than three acres of property not far from Saint Brendan Catholic Church, across the Beverly Pike Five-lane from the Elkins-Randolph County Regional Airport.

The Airport Authority is seeking easements from some property owners in the area in order to trim trees and remove obstacles.

“Some of my oaks are 100 years old, and they want to trim them down,” Little said. “Some of the people up here have signed the easements, but I’m fighting it, and so are some others.”

She said the Airport Authority offered her $23,069 as part of the easement agreement, but she turned it down. Now the Airport Authority has filed a civil case in Randolph County Circuit Court seeking an easement on her property through eminent domain.

“This is a permanent easement, that would only end if the airport goes out of business and shuts down,” Little said. “And they only want to compensate us a little bit of money for this. This will have a bad impact on property values.”

On March 22, the Elkins-Randolph County Regional Airport Authority filed a Petition in Eminent Domain against Little in Randolph County Circuit Court.

“In or about the fall of 2014, and on subsequent occasions, the Airport Authority was notified by the Federal Aviation Administration that there are obstacles that the FFA identified that penetrate the instrument approaches to the Airport’s Runway 5 and Runway 23,” the filing states. “These obstacles remain and consist in part of trees, silos and obstruction light structures.

“While the Airport Authority has been able to obtain several necessary easements through negotiation, it was not able to obtain the required easement for” Little’s property. “Therefore … the Airport Authority proposes to take the Subject Property for the aforementioned Easement through the exercise of eminent domain for the purpose of improving, maintaining and operating the Elkins-Randolph County Regional Airport Authority.”

The Airport Authority is asking the court to “ascertain a just compensation to the owners of the Subject Property and other interested persons for the property proposed to be taken,” and “upon payment of the just compensation thus ascertained, that the title to the Subject Property for the requisite Easement be taken and be vested in the Airport Authority.”

The proposed easement agreement that the Airport Authority wants Little to agree to and sign is included among the civil case’s court documents.

Under the easement agreement, “the Airport Authority is hereby granted the permission to completely remove all trees, vegetation or natural growth that penetrates into said Approach Surface, as may from time to time be necessary,” the proposed agreement states. “It is understood that the Airport Authority will completely remove the exiting obstructions within the easement area by their own forces or through the procurement of a qualified contractor. Airport Authority shall completely remove said growth from owner’s land at the expense of the Airport Authority and shall clean and remove all material cut to keep said Approach Surface free from obstructions.”

By agreeing to the permanent easement, Little would “hereby fully waive, remise and release any right or cause of action which they may now have or which they may have in the future against Airport Authority, its successors and asigns, due to such noise, vibrations, fumes, dust, fuel particles and all other effects that may be caused or any have been caused by the operation of aircraft landing at, or taking off from, or operating at or on said Elkins-Randolph County Regional Airport.”

The easement would be “terminated if and only upon the condition that the property now known and described as the Elkins-Randolph County Regional Airport shall cease to be used for private or commercial aviation.”

An upcoming court hearing in the civil case is scheduled before Circuit Judge David Wilmoth at the Randolph County Courthouse.

Little has hired attorneys Sean Sawyer of the Higinbotham & Higinbotham law firm and Tiffany Durst to represent her.

The Airport Authority is being represented by Matthew Casto and Katrina Bowers of the Babst Calland law firm.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $3.92/week.

Subscribe Today