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Office of <br />INDIAN RIVER COUNTY <br />ATTORNEY <br />Dylan Reingold, County Attorney <br />William K. DeBraal, Deputy County Attorney <br />Kate Pingolt Cotner, Assistant County Attorney <br />TO: <br />FROM: <br />DATE: <br />SUBJECT: <br />MEMORANDUM <br />Board of County Commissioners <br />William K. DeBraal, Deputy County Attome <br />January 4, 2017 <br />Cancellation of Agreement for Reservation of Right -of -Way for <br />United Irrigation, Inc. <br />Right-of-way reservations were common tools used 30 years ago to encumber property <br />as right-of-way for future road expansion without expending tax dollars to purchase the <br />future right-of-way and without using the eminent domain process. The Florida DOT, <br />counties and municipalities would enter into agreements with landowners wherein the <br />landowners would refrain from placing buildings on property abutting state or county <br />roadways and agree to sell the property to the government at some point in the future <br />when road improvement was necessary. In exchange for these promises, local <br />governments would grant site plan approval or the Florida DOT would grant driveway <br />access to the state road. No money was paid to the landowner for the reservation. The <br />agreements were recorded in the public records so as to run with the land and be binding <br />on future owners. Since that time, the courts have ruled right-of-way reservations are the <br />equivalent of a taking while avoiding the eminent domain process. The courts have held <br />these agreements to be illegal and unenforceable as almost all use of the property by the <br />owner is prohibited under the terms of the agreement. <br />United Irrigation, Inc. (United) owns a 0.25 acre parcel of property at the southwest corner <br />of U.S. Highway 1 and 11th Street. The parcel is leased to Paradise Scooters, a retail <br />sales and repair shop for small motorcycles and scooters. On March 22, 1988, Bobby <br />Hiers as president of United and Indian River County (County) entered into an Agreement <br />for Reservation for Road Right -of -Way (Agreement). A copy is attached to this <br />memorandum. The Agreement was made a condition of United's site plan approval back <br />in 1988. In exchange for site plan approval, United agreed to refrain from improving a 10 <br />foot wide setback of their property abutting U.S. Highway 1. They further agreed to sell <br />this property to the County if and when the County widened U.S. Highway 1 at some point <br />P53 <br />