Virginia Code 33.2-1001: Power to acquire lands, etc.; conveyance to municipality after acquisition; property owners to be informed and briefed
A. The Commissioner of Highways is vested with the power to acquire by purchase, gift, or power of eminent domain such lands, structures, rights-of-way, franchises, easements, and other interest in lands, including lands under water and riparian rights, of any person, association, partnership, corporation, or municipality or political subdivision, deemed necessary for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, maintenance, and repair of the public highways of the Commonwealth and for these purposes and all other purposes incidental thereto may condemn property in fee simple and rights-of-way of such width and on such routes and grades and locations as the Commissioner of Highways may deem requisite and suitable, including locations for permanent, temporary, continuous, periodical, or future use and rights or easements incidental thereto and lands, quarries, and locations, with rights of ingress and egress, containing gravel, clay, sand, stone, rock, timber, and any other road materials deemed useful or necessary in carrying out the purposes of this subsection.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 33.2-1001
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Commissioner of Highways: means the individual who serves as the chief executive officer of the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
- Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
- Maintenance: means (i) ordinary maintenance; (ii) maintenance replacement; (iii) operations that include traffic signal synchronization, incident management, and other intelligent transportation system functions; and (iv) any other categories of maintenance that may be designated by the Commissioner of Highways. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- Municipality: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-224. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- owner: includes persons owning structures or improvements for which an outdoor advertising permit has been issued by the Commissioner of Highways pursuant to § 33. See Virginia Code 33.2-1000
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- real estate: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights and appurtenances thereto and interests therein, other than a chattel interest. See Virginia Code 1-219
- State: includes District of Columbia;
(f) "Transit facilities" means all real and personal property located in the Zone, necessary or useful in rendering transit service between points within the Zone, by means of rail, bus, water or air and any other mode of travel, including, without limitation, tracks, rights-of-way, bridges, tunnels, subways, rolling stock for rail, motor vehicle, marine and air transportation, stations, terminals and ports, areas for parking and all equipment, fixtures, buildings and structures and services incidental to or required in connection with the performance of transit service;
(g) "Transit services" means the transportation of persons and their packages and baggage by means of transit facilities between points within the Zone including the transportation of newspapers, express and mail between such points, and charter service which originates within the Zone but does not include taxicab service or individual-ticket-sales sightseeing operations;
(h) "Transit Zone" or "Zone" means the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone created and described in Section 3 as well as any additional area that may be added pursuant to Section 83(a) of this Compact; and
(i) "WMATC" means Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission. See Virginia Code 33.2-3100
B. The Commissioner of Highways is authorized to exercise the power provided under subsection A within municipalities on projects that are constructed with state or federal participation if requested by the municipality concerned. Whenever the Commissioner of Highways has acquired property pursuant to a request of the municipality, he shall convey the title so acquired to the municipality, except that rights-of-way or easements acquired for the relocation of a railroad, public utility company, or public service corporation or company, another political subdivision, or a cable television company in connection with such projects shall be conveyed to that entity in accordance with § 33.2-1014. The authority for such conveyance shall apply to acquisitions made by the Commissioner of Highways pursuant to previous requests as well as any subsequent request.
C. Any offer by the Commissioner of Highways to a property owner with respect to payment of compensation for the prospective taking of property and damage to property not taken incident to the purposes of this section shall separately state (i) the property to be taken and the amount of compensation offered therefor and (ii) the nature of the prospective damage or damages and the amount of compensation offered for each such prospective damage. The amount of the offer shall not be less than the amount of the approved appraisal of the fair market value of such property, in accordance with the provisions of § 25.1-417, or the current assessed value of such property for real estate tax purposes, unless the property has physically changed in a material and substantial way since the current assessment date such that the real estate tax assessment no longer represents a fair valuation of the property, when the entire parcel for which the assessment is made is to be acquired, whichever is greater. Any such appraisal used by the Commissioner of Highways as the basis for an offer shall be prepared by a real estate appraiser licensed in accordance with Chapter 20.1 of Title 54.1.
D. The Commissioner of Highways shall also provide to a property owner a copy of any report of status of title prepared in connection with such acquisition if prepared pursuant to subsection D of § 25.1-204.
E. In negotiating with a property owner with respect to payment for prospective damage to property not taken incident to the purposes of this section, the Commissioner of Highways shall ensure that such property owner or his authorized representative is properly informed as to the type and amount of foreseeable damage or enhancement. Adequate briefing includes (i) the giving of plats and profiles of the project, showing cuts and fills, together with elevations and grades and (ii) explanation, in lay terms, of all proposed changes in profile, elevation, and grade of the highway and entrances, including the elevations of proposed pavement and shoulders, both center and edges, with relation to the present pavement and approximate grade of entrances to the property.
F. Any option or deed executed by the property owner shall contain a statement that the plans as they affect his property have been fully explained. However, the requirements of this section with respect to information and briefing and the acknowledgment thereof in options and deeds shall in no way be construed to affect the validity of any conveyance, to create any right to compensation, or to limit the authority of the Commissioner of Highways to reasonably control the use of public highways so as to promote the public health, safety, and welfare.
G. Nothing in this section shall make evidence of tax assessments admissible as proof of value in an eminent domain proceeding.
Code 1950, § 33-57; 1956, c. 152; 1966, c. 65; 1968, c. 700; 1970, c. 322, § 33.1-89; 1976, c. 430; 1993, c. 67; 1999, c. 88; 2000, c. 1029; 2002, c. 878; 2003, c. 940; 2013, c. 764; 2014, c. 805.