One Lawsuit Over Jackson Street Stops Every Big Street Project in Washington
The state supreme court voids the 1893 eminent domain law, and Seattle's half-million-dollar regrade — along with the ambitious improvements of every city over 1,500 people — is suddenly unfundable.
Seattle, Jan. 19. — Every city in the state with more than 1,500 inhabitants is affected by the recent decision of the supreme court, which brought to a stop the half-million dollar regrade of Jackson Street in this city. At present the city is up in the air on the question of financing the Jackson Street regrade, as well as a number of other gigantic improvements. The supreme court decision was rendered in the case of Schuchard against the city of Seattle, and knocked out the eminent domain law of 1893 as amended in 1907.
The decision is best explained by G. Ward Kemp, a Seattle lawyer who tried the Schuchard case and secured the decision against the weakness of the statute. "The eminent domain law of 1893," said Mr. Kemp, "while it permitted the damaging of private property for street improvements, did not provide for the assessment of such property after damages had been allowed. In the Jackson Street case the city damaged land in making a valuable improvement and only allowed damages after deducting the value of the benefits which the property would receive. The city then tried to assess the property to pay for the improvement. The property was practically taxed twice, once when the benefits were deducted from the damages, and again when the land was assessed.
"The supreme court held this to be wrong, although the method has been in practice for fifteen years in cities in the state. I believe the present legislature should amend the law and provide that when a city damages property by improvements, full damages shall be paid regardless of benefits, and the property then assessed according to the benefits. Until this is done the supreme court decision makes the financing of large street improvements practically impossible."
“The property was practically taxed twice, once when the benefits were deducted from the damages, and again when the land was assessed.”
Washington still argues over this exact arithmetic: when government takes or damages your land for a road or a rail line, do you get full compensation first, and only then get billed for the benefit? Kemp's fix — pay the whole damage, then assess the betterment — is roughly how modern condemnation and local improvement districts work. The Jackson Street regrade was eventually built, and the street it created is now part of Seattle's Chinatown International District and SoDo edge.
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