Business was inches away from court action on land controversyWarrenton – A Warrenton couple has reached a tentative settlement with the Oregon Department of Transportation over the condemnation of a piece of their property for the Marlin Avenue traffic signal project.

Attorneys for ODOT and Jill and Mike Storey, owners of the Warrenton Dairy Queen restaurant, came to a conditional agreement Tuesday morning as the two sides were preparing to face off in Clatsop County Circuit Court.

Last summer, ODOT condemned a portion of the Storeys’ land for construction of an access road next to Marlin Avenue. The agency is realigning Marlin where it intersects U.S. Highway 101 for the installation of a traffic light.

Under the settlement, the Storeys maintain ownership of the property, but will grant a permanent easement for the access road, which will provide a connection to Marlin for the Vince Williams Suzuki dealership located south of the restaurant. The couple will also receive an additional $24,000 for the land, on top of the $87,925 the agency originally offered.

Jill Storey called the settlement a fair and equitable resolution, but was frustrated over the time and expense it took to reach it.

“We shouldn’t have had to go through this,” she said.

ODOT is re-aligning Marlin at the 101 intersection to eliminate the oblique angle at which the street hits the highway. The frontage road is intended to provide access to the Vince Williams Suzuki dealership from Marlin, which will be shifted farther east under the new alignment.

After the state transportation commission approved the condemnation in December 2002, the agency offered the Storeys $87,925 for the property. After the couple rejected the offer, ODOT filed suit in Clatsop County Circuit Court in July 2003 to acquire the land through eminent domain, the process that allows government bodies to take possession of private property for public use and pay the owner for the land.

The Storeys argued that they would lose several parking spaces in front of the restaurant to the frontage road, and would be required to move the business’s sign too far away from Marlin.

They’ll still lose the parking, which will instead be located on the access road, but the new arrangement will allow them to keep their DQ sign out near Marlin, one of the most critical issues surrounding the whole dispute, Jill Storey said.

“The permit for an off-premise sign costs $100,000,” she said. “With this, we have the ability to put it back on our own property.”

The deal headed off a trial set to begin Tuesday morning before Judge Paula Brownhill. On Monday, the Storeys’ attorney, Joe Willis, submitted a lengthy memorandum and thick stack of documents claiming, among other things, that ODOT pushed forward with the project without considering other, less expensive and less intrusive designs, and didn’t follow proper procedures in pursuing the condemnation.

They also argued that the frontage road does not serve a public purpose because it is designed primarily to give access to the Vince Williams dealership, which would otherwise be cut off from Marlin with the new alignment.

ODOT spokesman Dan Knowl said the re-alignment of Marlin was needed to improve sight distance for motorists approaching Highway 101. The completion date for the $2.5 million project is set for Sept. 29.

The settlement also gives the Storeys the ability to seek further damages from ODOT if the construction in front of the restaurant, which is set to begin next month, disrupts business.

Storey commended the contractor, Tri-State Construction, for working closely with businesses along Marlin to minimize the project’s impact, but said the work can’t help but keep customers away, a particular worry during the busy summer season.