What is right of way acquisition, eminent domain and the Uniform Act?
Public projects such as highways and roads affect people’s lives by improving safety and the way we move about our communities and county. To improve highways and carry out other transportation programs, some people’s lives are disrupted because their land, home, or business may have to make way for a project and become public owned land otherwise known as right of way. When property cannot be acquired by negotiations with an impacted property owner, duly authorized public agencies with the constitutional power of eminent domain can acquire the property through the legislative process known as condemnation. Eminent domain, in short, is the right of a public entity such as a city, county or state, to involuntarily seize private property for a public purpose. The URA is a law enacted as Public Law 91-646, and brought a minimum standard of performance to all Federally funded projects with regard to the acquisition of real property and the relocation of persons displaced by the acquisition
