The City of St. Augustine is scheduled to vote Monday on a proposed settlement with the co-owners of a residential property affected by a major flood mitigation project.
The Lake Maria Sanchez Flood Mitigation and Drainage Improvement Project, which will include construction of a seawall, spurred the city to pursue eminent domain for easements on privately owned parcels, including one on Hedrick Street
Eminent domain is the government’s legal power to take private property for public use, provided the owner is compensated.
The settlement involves the three co-owners of the property — Gary Stehli, Darryl Baumstein, and Sonya Baumstein.
Under the agreement, the city would pay a total of $450,000 for multiple easements on the parcel.
In addition, the city would cover $99,601 in attorney’s fees to the co-owners’ law firm, Brigham Property Rights Law Firm.
The easements would include a permanent 5,006-square-foot easement, a temporary 3,010-square-foot easement lasting up to fifteen years, and a perpetual access easement covering 101,706 square feet.
If approved, the agreement would allow the city to avoid further litigation with the Hedrick owners.
But Lynn Kluger, who is also named in the city’s eminent domain lawsuit for a nearby property, is not part of the agreement.
Her property remains under litigation, meaning the city may continue legal proceedings or pursue a separate accord.
City officials assert that the project is part of a long-planned effort to address rising water levels and rains that have repeatedly inundated local neighborhoods, businesses, and public spaces.
