Real Estate Services is responsible for real property acquisition associated with capital improvement projects including new road construction, road widening, and sidewalks, as well as parks and facilities projects. Depending upon the project, the acquisition may be a total taking in fee of a parcel, a partial taking in fee, or a permanent or temporary easement. The acquisition can also be achieved by donation of the land to the county by the property owner, voluntary sale, or through eminent domain proceedings.
When a capital improvement project is approved, the county determines the properties which will be needed. The number of individual parcels involved varies depending upon the project type, specific design, and scale. Affected parcels usually fall within one of the following categories:
- Total Acquisition in Fee - The county purchases the entire parcel, including any improvements. The price paid for the property, not including relocation or loss of business costs, if any, equals the fair market value of the property.
- Partial Acquisition in Fee - The county only purchases a portion of the property. The county pays the fair market value of the portion taken and additional damages occurring to the remainder property, if any.
- Permanent Easement - The county acquires permanent easement rights from the property owner.
- Temporary Construction Easement - The county acquires a temporary construction easement from a property owner to enable entering upon the property for construction purposes.
- Temporary Right of Entry - The county acquires permission from the property owner to enter the property.
- Eminent Domain - If the county and the property owner cannot reach agreement for voluntary acquisition, the County may, of necessity, proceed via eminent domain. The laws pertaining to eminent domain can be found at the State of Florida website.