Branson Negotiates Eminent Domain

Branson, land owner grapple in eminent domain case
By Dee Dee Nilsen
Springfield Business Journal Staff
10/28/2005
The city of Branson is stepping in to expedite negotiations between Branson School District and the owner of property that district officials have their eyes on.

The Branson Board of Aldermen Oct. 24 gave initial approval on first reading of an ordinance that would begin the process power of eminent domain for the creation of a road requested by the district.

The district has been searching for several years for a solution to traffic congestion and the resulting safety hazards surrounding Cedar Ridge Elementary School, said superintendent Doug Hayter. Earlier this year, the district opted to create a second access to the school by building a road west of it that turns northward and connects with Highway 248 at Gretna Road.

“We’ve looked at numbers of options around the campus, we’ve talked to several land owners and after years of looking at it, that’s just about the only and best option we have at this time,” Hayter said.

However, there’s a catch. Branson resident Darrell Ledbetter owns the land and a golf driving range on the property where the road is to be built.

Hayter said negotiations to acquire the land have been ongoing for several months, but Ledbetter said he’s waiting for an offer to be made.

“To me, a negotiation is where they offer you $5, you say no, I’ll take $20, and they offer $12,” Ledbetter said. “There hasn’t been anything done like that yet.”

David Miller, Branson city engineer, said the city had included the new road in its master plan at one time and met with Ledbetter on several occasions. The project has since been dropped from the city’s list of priorities, Miller said, and the school district has taken it on.

The major holdup in negotiations is the determination of the road’s location, Hayter said.

“I told them in the beginning I had no objection to the road being built, but I would like to have it built to where I could save the business I have on the property,” Ledbetter said.

Miller said that, even in early negotiations, plans for the road have always put it through Ledbetter’s business because avoiding it would pose driving risks.

“The only way to avoid going through the golf driving range would be to put an extremely sharp turn in the road, go a short distance and put another extremely sharp turn in the road,” he said. “All the curves wouldn’t meet the ability for cars to drive around at a safe speed – you just physically can’t do it.”

If the district and Ledbetter do not come to an agreement by the board’s Nov. 14 meeting, the eminent domain ordinance will go up for a final vote.