NC should pay property owners promptly after Map Act ruling

Highway robbery typically is committed by outlaws, but in this case it was done by the law, North Carolina’s notorious Map Act.

In an effort to save costs on highway construction, the state legislature in 1987 passed the Map Act, a law allowing the state to designate private land as part of a potential highway corridor without actually condemning and buying the land. In some cases, landowners had their properties tied up by this designation for more than 20 years as the state Department of Transportation waited for funding for major highway projects.

The state’s land grab affected thousands of landowners in 25 highway projects statewide, including more than 100 in southern Wake County who own land potentially in the path of the next Outer Loop extension.

Seven landowners in Forsyth County started a revolt by suing the state after their land became part of a protected corridor for a projected Winston-Salem beltway. The ranks of plaintiffs grew to 300 as others challenged Map Act designations for highway projects in six counties. They endured years of expense and delay as they waited for the gears of justice to grind to a conclusion.

Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court delivered that justice. It affirmed a decision by the N.C. Court of Appeals last year that found that when DOT creates a “protected corridor” under the Map Act it effectively takes private property without paying for it. The decision referred to land in the path of the Winston-Salem beltway, but it will apply to landowners across the state whose properties were ensnared under the Map Act.

The courts did well to end this unfair taking without compensation. And so did the landowners who had the gumption and grit to take on the government and hang on through the delays. Unfortunately, the process was so protracted that some plaintiffs died before getting what they were owed.

Attorney Matthew Bryant of Winston-Salem represented many of the landowners. He said many of the plaintiffs were in their 60s or 70s when they took up the legal fight. “I’m very proud of them. It takes bold citizens to do this,” he said.

Now, the next challenge: waiting for the DOT to pay fair market values for the land it has taken. Under the court ruling, the landowners are entitled to the value of their land plus 8 percent interest from the time of the taking and compensation for property taxes paid in the interim and their legal fees. The state should move quickly to buy the land and pay related costs.

This story was originally published June 21, 2016 at 6:58 PM with the headline "NC should pay property owners promptly after Map Act ruling."