The District government has put landowners on the site of a proposed new baseball stadium on notice that the city will open negotiations to buy their properties as early as July.
The two-page letters, which were sent last week by the Office of Property Management, stated that owners will have a right to make a counteroffer if they are not satisfied with the city's bid, but they must provide documents to support their claims for higher purchase prices. Also, owners will be expected to vacate the properties by the end of the year, the letters said.
This marks the most aggressive move to date by the city to begin trying to acquire about 14 acres that are privately owned near South Capitol Street and the Navy Yard, along the Anacostia waterfront in Southeast. The city already owns about six acres at the site, made up of roads and public alleys.
But at least some of the 33 property owners are expected to put up a fight, and two already have filed lawsuits in Superior Court over issues related to the stadium. If the District is unable to buy the properties, it can attempt to condemn the land and seize it through eminent domain. Then the issues would be decided in court.
M. Roy Goldberg, an attorney for owners of a trash transfer station on the site, filed suit months ago alleging the city had denied his clients permits to expand and renovate, in an effort to keep the cost of the property artificially low in preparation for an annexation bid.
Citing a Connecticut eminent domain case pending before the Supreme Court, Goldberg and others question whether a baseball stadium is truly a public use for which eminent domain can be invoked. "Given the nature of the stadium funding and proposed utilization, it remains a live issue whether the D.C. government has the legal authority to acquire any of the subject properties through eminent domain," Goldberg wrote in an e-mail to The Washington Post.
The city intends to move quickly, hoping to break ground on the stadium by next spring and finish the ballpark by March 2008. But Goldberg added: "One should not expect resolution of the critical issues, if at all, for several months. To allude to baseball, we are still in the pre-game show, and not yet even in the first inning." City officials are concerned that any legal delays over the acquisition of the land could delay the opening.
Carol J. Mitten, director of the city's Office of Property Management, is overseeing the land acquisition process for the District. She sent the letters after a study by Natwar M. Gandhi, the city's chief financial officer, determined that the cost to acquire the land, do environmental cleanup and build stadium infrastructure would fall just below the D.C. Council's cost cap.
Mitten has hired Maryland-based Lipman, Frizzell & Mitchell to conduct a separate assessment of the land costs. Officials will use that study to develop offers to buy the property.
Dale A. Cooter, who represents business owner Robert Siegel, filed a suit alleging that Gandhi's study was conducted with the intent to keep the cost below the council's cap. Had the cost exceeded the cap, the council's legislation stated that Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) would have to seek an alternative stadium site.
"I considered sending the letter to be audacious," Cooter said. "We've got a lawsuit pending. We're working on a response to their motion to dismiss. It's audacity to put out a letter saying we've got to be out by end of year. The people who continue down this road don't seem to get it."
Calls placed to Mitten's office for comment were not returned.
Mitten's letter states that her office will help property owners as they attempt to relocate, including possibly providing money to cover moving costs and finding comparable dwellings.
Kenneth Wyban, who lives at the site in a home that he was intending to turn into a bed-and-breakfast, said last month that he would negotiate with the city "in good faith."
"If I feel they're being fair, I'll sell," he said. "But if I do not feel they're being fair, I won't."
Some businesses have special needs, however. For example, Siegel owns a gay porn shop, which city regulations would prohibit from moving to certain neighborhoods. Mitten provided him with a map of the city that showed where such businesses are allowed to apply for a license.
Cooter noted that the Washington Nationals had a grand opening at their first game at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, and that the 44-year-old stadium was recently renovated.
"Maybe they could just stay there," Cooter said.
