VoP Stormwater Project & Eminent Domain Action FAQ

Julianne’s Playground, owned by the Pelham Public Schools for nearly 100 years, is at the center of an eminent domain action by the Village of Pelham. To address flooding in North Pelham, the Village plans to build a stormwater retention tank under the tennis courts and blacktop, install above-ground diesel pumps to manage stormwater, and construct a facility to house the pumps with a public restroom attached.

Yes! Many families in our community are affected by flooding, and we genuinely want to find solutions. We are all part of the same community and strive to support our neighbors. We offered to sell or swap the entire property to the Village to help with flood mitigation.

Eminent domain is a legal process that allows an entity, governmental or one with statutory condemnation authority, to take property for public use, with fair and just compensation (this, too, is an issue to be litigated). Taking property from another public entity, such as a school district, is somewhat unusual. In this situation, the Board of Education is willing to transfer the property via swap or sale. The Village is not claiming eminent domain to own the property though, as they are only looking to own a small portion but have the right to use a large portion of the developable area. They are seeking eminent domain for the following:

a.    To be granted a permanent easement (a right to use the land but not own it) under the blacktop and tennis courts to build a 3 million gallon water tank, while the District is forced to retain ownership of the land above it, along with a temporary “construction staging” easement.  This project is estimated to last approximately 3 years.

b.    To claim ownership of part of the land for the massive diesel pumps, diesel fuel storage, a public restroom, and a large building to contain them, notwithstanding that the public restroom is not a necessary part of the flood mitigation project.

Under this plan the District would still own Julianne’s Playground, except for where the pump house building is located, including the section with the water tanks underneath, while the Village would only own the land on which the diesel pumps, restroom, and structure covering them would be.

An easement allows someone to use part of your property while you still own it. For example, if there are power lines running over your yard, that is pursuant to an easement to Con Edison. Important to note is that an easement is, typically, for projects that do not fundamentally change the property and how it can be used. An easement to build stormwater retention tanks does alter the property and makes it unusable for future educational purposes.

With an easement, the District would remain owners of the land. It forces the District to assume perpetual liability for a massive infrastructure project and public restrooms and significant diesel storage that it does not own or operate. Once installed, these tanks can never be removed. No amount of indemnification or insurance can fully eliminate this liability, i.e., it does not stop someone from suing the District at the same time it sues the Village. Also, while the District would still own most of the property, the stormwater project would render the most buildable portions undevelopable for future educational purposes and may, in and of itself, create runoff issues on other parts of the property. Therefore, we have consistently proposed transferring the property to the Village via a swap or a sale to facilitate this project and allow the District to use lands or funds to pursue educational objectives elsewhere.

Yes. The Board has discussed more than one way to transfer Julianne’s Playground to the Village via sale or swap of the property for property owned by the Village so that the Village would have full ownership. However, the Village has rejected these ideas and recently indicated that they have no interest in owning the property, or to negotiate further. Instead, the Village chose to pursue eminent domain for an easement and to own only the property for the diesel pump house and public restroom instead of working towards a full transfer of the property. We oppose this arrangement, in part, due to the liability concerns, the inherent confusion this would create, and the resources it will cost the District. As an example, when the Village dug holes in the property this summer as part of their geotechnical testing, the District fielded numerous questions and complaints from the community about portions of Julianne’s being closed off and the quality of the repairs. Addressing these issues distracts from the District’s chief objective - educating Pelham’s students.  Given the timeline of this multi-phased project, the District will, likely, be inundated with questions and complaints about the property’s closure and will have to be concerned about potential problems at a construction site in the middle of a highly populated residential area typically frequented by the public.
 

Yes, we have had an appraisal performed but cannot share it publicly due to potential litigation and, hopefully, ongoing discussions on the sale of real property, as well as the legal action brought by the Village.

New York State Education Law requires a public vote when a school district acquires or sells property. Eminent domain proceedings would circumvent that vote.

Based on our experience, projects on school property typically require approval from the State Education Department. If this large municipal project proceeds under district ownership, the possible need for New York State Education Department approvals could cause significant delays to the timeline and this issue must be explored further.

No. Unfortunately, while we have discussed several possibilities for transferring the property, ultimately the Village determined they would pursue eminent domain for an easement and partial ownership of just the pump house and restroom. Our main concern has not been addressed–that the District does not want to own the project property during or after the construction due to the perpetual liability and the financial harm to the District and District taxpayers that this would cause.
 

The Board authorized our legal counsel to challenge the Village’s use of eminent domain in the appellate court. We are still hopeful that conversations between the Village and the Board can resume so that together we can work out a solution that allows the Village to address flooding and takes into consideration the responsibility we have to the School District.

Yes. Our new Board members have been fully briefed and we all want a solution that addresses flooding, as well as one that addresses the concerns of the District. We are equally as concerned about the costs of this lawsuit against the District, as well as the necessary legal costs to challenge this decision and, ultimately, the second proceeding in State Supreme Court, and we all recognize it will be difficult to effectively collaborate directly on a solution with the Village and allow for community input, while fully protecting the District’s interests in a legal case.

We propose a straightforward solution: selling Julianne’s Playground to the Village (for cash or mutually-agreeable property swap). This would allow the Village to fully own the Julianne’s Playground property, manage the flood project without complications and ensure clarity about ownership and future responsibilities and liabilities. Our offer was made to help the community and partner with the Village to help solve the flooding problem. With this plan in mind, last spring, the Board of Education authorized three Board members to discuss a transfer via a swap or sale of the property with the Village of Pelham. They met with the Village on a few occasions. More recently, our attorneys were engaged with attorneys for the Village, who seemed open to the idea of a full property taking, as we desired.  However, the Village of Pelham thereafter determined that they did not want to own the property, and chose to pursue eminent domain for an “easement” and limited ownership, instead.

We encourage community members to reach out to their elected officials in the Village. You can find their contact information online. You can also contact us at boe@pelhamschools.org. As always, we appreciate your support for the Pelham Public Schools and the strong commitment to our students and community.