Ecusta Trail property owners demand payment in federal lawsuits, help from Henderson Cty
HENDERSONVILLE - Nearly 200 property owners who live along the multimillion-dollar Ecusta Trail project in Henderson and Transylvania counties who have filed lawsuits against the federal government are still waiting to be compensated, and if no settlements are made, three of the cases are set to go to trial in the summer.
There are four lawsuits that have been filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims, with the initial one being filed in June 2021 — Austin v. U.S. It has the largest number of plaintiffs at 143. Since then three more lawsuits have been filed by property owners — Dalla vs. U.S. (filed in November 2022 with 20 clients), Bridges v. U.S. (February 2022 with 11 clients) and the latest, Pearson v. U.S. (June 2023 with eight clients).
"Each lawsuit was filed on a different date, but they are all claiming the same thing — compensation for the taking of their land," Meredith Shrinivas, a paralegal for lawyer Lindsay Brinton of the Lewis Rice LLC law firm handling the lawsuits, told the Times-News on Feb. 7.
Shrinivas said there are now 180 clients and 212 claims.
"The counties, trail groups and railroad are not parties in these cases," Shrinivas said. "We have 172 clients and 203 claims (individual land parcels) between the Austin, Bridges and Dalla cases. Those three cases are set for June 2024 trial. For the Pearson case, we have eight clients and nine claims. This case is not set for trial at this time."
There is still another case in the works, she said.
"We also have five clients with six claims that will be included in our next case," she said.
It's been a long process for the homeowners, but they are hoping to see an outcome in the coming months.
"It was our understanding that if the railroad was abandoned, the land would be returned to the property owners," Colleen Braznell, one of the homeowners along the trail, said. "But because they have declared the trail a linear park, they said the land doesn’t have to be returned (to us)."
Each of the lawsuits claim the same thing, stating the federal government took these North Carolina owners’ property, and the Just Compensation Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution requires the federal government pay these owners for what the government took.
More: Community celebrates groundbreaking of first 6-mile stretch of Ecusta Trail
Brinton said they are currently working to resolve the claims through potential settlements.
"If settlements are not possible, we will proceed with a valuation trial this June," Brinton told the Times-News on Feb. 5.
Brinton told the Citizen-Times in 2021 that homeowners, if successful, could see anywhere from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on appraisals for each parcel.
Property owners, in the lawsuits, are seeking the following three requests:
Pay owners the full fair-market value of that property the federal government took from them.
Pay owners compensation for the delay between when the government took the owners’ property in June 2021 and the actual date when the government finally honors its constitutional obligation and pays owners compensation for the land it took.
Reimburse property owners’ litigation costs and attorneys’ fees.
When completed, the Ecusta Trail will be a 19.4-mile multiuse, paved pathway along the former Watco Rail Line and will connect the cities of Hendersonville and Brevard. The first 6-mile stretch of the trail will start in downtown Hendersonville, go through the town of Laurel Park and end at Battle Creek off U.S. 64 in Horse Shoe. The second phase in Henderson County is in the planning stages, and that will take the trail to the Transylvania County line.
According to Henderson County Engineer Marcus Jones, JMT Engineers (previously Vaughn & Melton) is designing the first section of trail from Hendersonville to Horse Shoe, and NHM Constructors is constructing the first phase.
"Myself and NCDOT inspectors are on site a lot, but the majority of the workers on site are NHM employees or subcontractors," Jones said.
Work began on the first phase in Hendersonville late last year, and residents along the trail so far have deep concerns. Those who reached out to the Times-News said construction crews are invading their property and cutting down trees and vegetation without their permission, but the county disagrees.
The homeowners' complaints
The Braznells live off White Pine Drive in Hendersonville and used to have a row of trees near their house that is adjacent to the trail. Braznell said the property has been in her husband's family since the 1920s and that she and her husband, Andy, have lived in their current home since 1979.
"Our property borders the Ecusta Trail roughly from White Pine Drive to Hillside Lane. (The county) told us they were cutting trees down for a sight issue or drainage issue," Colleen Braznell said. "It seems like no consideration or forethought and planning were given to how this project is affecting the bordering property owners. Our family has owned this property since the 1920s and has been allowed to use the land without restrictions, as have other property owners."
Jones said all the trees cut down are actually on the trail's property, not the homeowners' properties. Braznell said she lives next to Roxy Goodwin, who also had trees near her home cut down.
"On their maps it did show Roxy’s trees were to be cut down, but there was no notation to cut ours down," Braznell said.
More: 5 questions for Henderson County heading into 2024
Braznell had another complaint about crews working on the trail.
"We have had people coming off the trail onto our property and defecating on our property. I contacted the (Henderson County) sheriff's department, and they were unable to do anything without knowing exactly who was trespassing," Braznell said.
"They did have extra patrols come by, and they informed me they get a lot of complaints from property owners along the trail. This occurred back in October."
Braznell said Henderson County Business and Community Development Director Chris Todd came out to the property in October when the incident was reported, telling her they want to be good neighbors and things will get better once the trail is completed.
The first six-mile portion of the trail in Hendersonville is expected to be completed by November, according to Jones, who, like Todd, said he wants to see communication improve between the crews working on the trail and the homeowners in the future.
"We know there is nothing we can do to stop the trail. On Aug. 19, 2021, we received a letter from Kieran Roe (director of nonprofit Conserving Carolina), informing us as to what was now on their corridor and also that a project partner would be contacting us to provide input during the design process," Braznell said.
When contacted by the Times-News, Roe said the county was heading up the trail construction process, so he deferred all questions about the construction to the county.
Braznell said no one contacted her family about cutting down the trees, which were white pines standing about 30 feet tall. They had been there for around 40 years, she said.
"A line of trees that bordered our driveway was also cut down without notice. This was evidently in error, but we were not given any notification about their removal," she said.
More: Answer Man: Will pedestrians be safe with oncoming traffic on the new Ecusta Trail?
Goodwin said they used to have a natural fence of eight evergreen trees that lined their driveway between their property and the Ecusta Trail. Those have all been cut down.
"These trees have been a visual and sound barrier for our home and the traffic of U.S. 64 and helped create the feeling of a private little oasis down our little dirt road. I never imagined that they would get mowed down by the developers of the trail," she said. "The only notice we had of this occurring was a knock on the door from the contractor, who said he felt bad for us, the day before it was to happen.
"This seems so incredibly unnecessary, as they are elevated up from the trail. My beautiful all-windowed sunroom and bedroom now look right onto the trail, the fleet of vehicles behind house at the top of our road and the highway. I feel so violated and so exposed. I feel like we have been disregarded and treated like the bad guys."
Goodwin said their home was built as a summer home for railroad workers in 1925.
"We have spent 15 years of blood, sweat, tears, hard-earned money and a whole lot of love restoring this property and its surroundings. The Ecusta Trail now owns what were our trees, our driveway and our stone retaining wall. There is no place to put a fence, unless they grant us permission to erect one where they mowed down our trees," she said.
Goodwin said she and her husband have installed security cameras and "No trespassing" signs. She and her husband are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
"We do have attorneys representing us on the federal side of this issue, but who knows how long that will take and what will become of it. In the meantime, I feel like it is important for the community to know the 'not-so good" side of the Ecusta Trail story," she said.
Eva Ritchey lives within 100 feet of the trail and told the Times-News the project was being handled with a top-down approach instead of including the landowners as the partners they are.
"Right now there is a rebellion rising among adjacent landowners over the insensitive treatment of them. Sure, there is going to be unhappy people over this trail, but there are also steps that could have been taken and should be taken to soothe the anger and acknowledge the sacrifice the landowners are making. The Ecusta Committee needs to relook at their procedures and include flexibility," she said.
More: Community celebrates groundbreaking of first 6-mile stretch of Ecusta Trail
The county's response
Henderson County Engineer Marcus Jones, whose team oversees the project on the Hendersonville side, has been visiting landowners along the trail who have complaints, he told the Times-News on Feb. 2. He has already spoken with the Braznell family, the Goodwin family and also with Ritchey.
"We are only removing trees and vegetation on trail property that are in the path of construction or a safety concern," he said.
He did say things could've been done differently, especially in communicating with the landowners.
"In hindsight, we could have done more and will try to implement the lessons learned into the construction of the next phase. It’s important to note that we are staying completely within the trail's property at all times," he said.
His crews have been working on the Hendersonville side of the Ecusta Trail since the groundbreaking on Oct. 28 at the Veterans Healing Farm.
"We have reached out to property owners adjacent to the trail property during the acquisition of the property from the railroad (WATCO Companies), and our contractor actually knocked on doors prior to clearing operations on trail property adjacent to their property," he said.
Moving forward, Jones said he and his crews want to be more available for landowners who have complaints or concerns. Jones said he will be available to meet with landowners on site and can be reached at 828-694-6560 or by email at mjones@hendersoncountync.gov.
The county also said the public is also invited to attend the Rail Trail Advisory Committee meetings, which are held the second Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. in the King Street building at 100 N. King St.
A response from the U.S. Department of Justice wasn't received by deadline.
More: Pisgah National Forest entrance in Brevard to get major update with traffic circle
Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Homeowners along Ecusta Trail still waiting for compensation
