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SOUTH PORTLAND — When the city took a small piece of land for a fire station on Western Avenue in 1968, officials said they needed it for a fire station.
By eminent domain, the city forced the owner to hand over the title and the land for $7,300, the fair market value at the time.
But the city never built the fire station, and now it wants to sell the desirable land in the city’s west end for $275,000 or more.
The former owner, who has remained interested in the property, has sued to get it back at or near the 1968 price.
South Portland officials embraced a Superior Court ruling Tuesday that said the city is free to hold or sell the land. But an attorney for the former owner said he plans to appeal to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
“For us, it’s an issue of the power of government and the abuse of power,” said Richard Davis, a Cape Elizabeth attorney for South Portland Associates. The New Jersey-based real estate partnership has owned large tracts near the Maine Mall for decades.
City officials say the case is more about protecting the rightful assets of taxpayers.
“The city paid fair market value in 1968,” said Mary Kahl, South Portland’s attorney. “We’re holding a piece of public property, and we’re holding it for the benefits of our taxpayers, and we’re simply not allowed to convey it to anyone for less than its fair market value.”
The outcome could clarify a foggy area in Maine law.
While some states place time limits and other restrictions on the use of land taken by eminent domain, Maine law says only that the land must be used for the purpose for which it was taken. It doesn’t spell out what happens when plans change.
As plans for a fire station were periodically floated and sunk, the triangular piece of land sat idle for 31 years, quietly multiplying in value as retail, office and industrial development sprawled across the city’s west end.
By 1995, the land was no longer considered the best place for a fire station. Its shape, size and location at the busy four-way intersection made it less functional than undeveloped lots near the intersection of Western Avenue and Foden Road, according to city officials and consultants’ reports.
“There’s never been any dispute that at the time of the taking, the city intended to use it for a fire station,” Kahl said.
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