TRI could settle lawsuit Friday
Tri-Cities Regional Airport's nearly decade-long struggle to create a buffer zone around the airport could end Friday.
The airport commission is scheduled to meet to consider a lawsuit settlement with property owners in the Grande Harbor subdivision, where the buffer zone property is located.
The Federal Aviation Administration wants the airport to acquire six lots in the subdivision, a 200-acre, high-end development on the east side of the airport, according to a lawsuit filed by Sullivan County. The lots are in the runway protection zone, a federally mandated area around the airport where buildings cannot be located. The zone is meant to protect airplanes as well as residents.
The airport wants to expand a secondary runway and therefore needs to expand the buffer zone around the airport.
The developers of Grande Harbor, Timothy Carter and Jeffrey Booher, acquired the property in 2004, according to court documents, and started negotiations with the airport on acquiring the six parcels.
But airport officials were indecisive about the purchase, and the developer moved forward with subdividing the land and selling lots in Grande Harbor, according to discussions at airport commission meetings in 2008.
An agreement was finally reached between the developers and the airport, but attorneys for the airport had reservations. The developers had placed subdivision regulations, called covenants, on the land when Grande Harbor was platted, and the legal representatives were concerned that those rules would interfere with FFA compliance.
The airport's attorneys suggested acquiring the property through eminent domain, a legal process in which a government entity can take possession of property for the benefit of the community. They said the process would remove all legal covenants on the property.
The developers opposed the process.
But neither the airport commission nor the airport have the authority to start eminent domain proceedings. The airport looked to Sullivan County, which is one of six localities that own the airport, because the subdivision is in its jurisdiction.
In September 2009, Sullivan County filed a condemnation lawsuit against all of the property owners in Grande Harbor and the developers. While the county claimed that no property owners would be harmed in the condemnation, Tennessee law required that all parties be joined to the case, according to the lawsuit.
The airport made an initial $120,000 payment to the developers and planned to pay a total of $417,000 once the condemnation proceedings were finalized, according to legal documents.
But the legal wrangling has gone on for years due to financial and legal concerns. Mountain Commerce Bank had a financial interest in the lots and sought the proceeds from the condemnation. It had a lien against the property, and a condemnation removes all liens and gives the government "free and clear" ownership of the property. The bank demanded a separate trial on its claims.
First Community Bank of East Tennessee received a $972,489 default judgment against Grande Harbor, Booher and Carter and sought an interest in the settlement.
Grande Harbor has struggled financially, having had its state charter revoked in 2009 because of failure to pay taxes, according to the lawsuit.
In addition, a real estate company, Evans and Begley, said it had an excusive listing arrangement on the six lots and demanded $25,000.
The airport commission is scheduled to go into executive session Friday and talk about the terms of a settlement and could take a vote.
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Copyright 2012 - Bristol Herald Courier, Va.