La Paloma Property Owners, et al. adv. Catalina Foothills Un ified School Dist. #16 (Arizona)
The plaintiff (La Paloma Property Owners Associations, Inc. ("LPPOA")) is petitioning the Arizona Supreme Court to review the Arizona Court of Appeals holding that a school district may exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire a private road by which vehicles may enter a school campus. LPPOA is the master association of a master-planned development in Pima County, Arizona and is located adjacent to the defendant's, Catalina Foothills Unified School District No. 16 ("CFSD"), school campus.
CFSD condemned Campo Abierto, a private subdivision street owned by the plaintiffs to acquire an access easement. Under Arizona law a school district can only acquire land, in fee simple, to use as buildings and grounds. Even though CFSD was only using about one-third of its total parcel, it convinced the court it was necessary to acquire this additional area, in fee simple, as part of its buildings and grounds.
LPPOA raised a number of legal issues, including the issue of necessity required for condemnation; whether or not it truly was buildings and grounds, as opposed to an access way; whether or not the acquisition was in fee simple when CFSD agreed it was subject to the access and utility rights of others; and, whether or not the conveyance of this easement, after title vests, could be an offset to damages which have already accrued. The Arizona Court of Appeals concluded the subdivision road now was "buildings and grounds," CFSD was acquiring Campo Abierto in fee title, and the later conveyance of an access easement was an offset in the calculation of just compensation.
The appellate decision establishes an inappropriate precedent that could be abused by other districts having the power of condemnation. First, the idea that a school district can condemn a private subdivision street and change its character from association-owned to being owned in fee by a school district has a resounding effect. Not only could the school district remove the entry statement amenities or other landscaping, but by redesigning the entryway to the school, lessen the quality of the access way for association members. Additionally, school districts are usually exempt from homeowner association dues, maintenance fees, or other expenses, the access way could decline in quality, not just in appearance, but also in safety, to a degree below the standards required by the association. Finally, once a road is owned by a school district, it becomes the school district's buildings and grounds, additional problems arise. A homeowner returning from shopping, with alcohol or tobacco in the vehicle, is technically committing a misdemeanor entering school property with prohibited items. It was not contemplated by the legislature that school districts would own access ways, used primarily by others, as their means of ingress and egress to homes.
Amicus Brief
CAI Amicus Brief Author: Scott B. Carpenter, Esq.
Prior Rulings: Court of Appeals Decision, Lower Court Decision
CAI Amicus Brief Review Committee: Robert Diamond, Esq., Chair of Amicus Committee, James Strichartz, Esq. (WA), Jennifer Jacobsen, Esq. (CA), Tom Moriarty, Esq. (MA), Lori Poole, Esq. (CA)