Land seized from LaGrange farmer in 1956 now up for sale, family says

Almost a lifetime ago, the village of LaGrange took a farmer's land by eminent domain for public utility, primarily water access. Sixty-five years later, the village has put that property up for sale, and that farmer's daughter is now asking why she can't just have her family land back. Eminent domain is "the power of the federal, state, and local governments to take private property for public use," according to a definition given by the Ohio Attorney General's Office. The practice is enshrined in the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Marilyn Teeple's family owned the approximately 32 acres of property in LaGrange Township that was taken by the village of LaGrange in 1956. The land is in two parcels: One a narrow rectangular strip of 2.64 acres and another 29.37-acre rectangle of land just north of that, Teeple said. The parcels are just to the west of the intersection of Kipton Nickle Plate Road and Diagonal Road. Under the U.S. and Ohio constitutions, governments are required to provide compensation to landowners whose property is taken. Teeple said her father, Fred Smith, was offered $14,000 by the village as compensation for the land back in 1956. It is now worth more than 12 times that, according to the Lorain County Auditor's Office. The current market value of the larger parcel is just under $173,000, and the smaller parcel is worth $4,750. Teeple said her father tried to bargain, offering 99 years worth of water rights in exchange for being able to keep the land. When that failed, and he was offered compensation, he refused to take the money. That $14,000 has remained, unclaimed, at the Lorain County Treasurer's Office ever since, Teeple said. "My dad didn't want it, I didn't want it," she said. The village recently ran legal notices in The Chronicle-Telegram seeking bids for the property. That didn't sit well with Teeple. She said that over the years, she has repeatedly asked for the property to be returned. Her family even sued to get it back without success. Teeple said after the Rural Lorain County Water Authority was created in the 1970s, her father went back to the village and again asked for the property back. Again, no luck. The village eventually joined the water authority in the 1990s and no longer needed Fred Smith's property for any reason, his daughter said. "They haven't used it in 30 years, what are they doing?" Teeple asked. A message seeking comment on the matter was left for LaGrange Mayor Kim Strauss. It also doesn't appear legally possible, under Ohio law, for the village to just give the property back to Teeple's family. Ohio law governs what villages and other municipalities must do when selling real estate, and how the process must go out to public bid. Teeple said bids to purchase the property are due to the village by Monday. Ideally, Teeple said she wants the property returned to her family, "but I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen," she said. "Unfortunately, we've been repeatedly told that legally, there's nothing we can do," Teeple said. "It's all legal, but is it just?" Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @daveobrienCT.