Pappas engaged in land battle

Friday, Jan. 20, 2006 | 8:44 a.m.

A local landowner who was embroiled in a highly publicized eminent domain case against Las Vegas involving downtown property now is engaged in another land battle with North Las Vegas.

In a trial that began Thursday before District Judge Lee Gates, Carol Pappas is squaring off against North Las Vegas in a dispute over the amount of money that the city is willing to pay for 2.1 acres of her property.

The city began eminent domain proceedings in March 2004 for the land at the southeast corner of Ann Road and Simmons Street to widen that intersection as part of a flood control project.

Pappas had purchased the property in 1988 as part of a 17.5-acre parcel zoned for rural estates.

The city argues that the 2.1 acres has limited potential uses that restrict its value. According to Pappas' attorneys, the city offered her 53 cents per square foot for what amounts to 92,033 square feet of land. That translates to $48,777.

But Pappas, through her attorneys, does not believe North Las Vegas is offering fair value for the property. It is a familiar battle for her.

Pappas obtained a $4.5 million settlement from Las Vegas in 2004 that put an end to litigation involving the city's 1993 taking of some of her family's property on behalf of downtown casinos for construction of the Fremont Street Experience garage.

Her family argued that it lost tens of thousands of dollars in annual income from leases of stores on the downtown property. While the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the land taking was legal, the city later agreed to the monetary settlement to cancel a trial scheduled to determine a value for the property.

Central to Pappas' argument in the North Las Vegas case is a 1984 Nevada Supreme Court decision, Clark County v. Arby and Ruth Alper. That case involved a strip of land that the county took from the Alpers for the construction of Flamingo Road.

Pappas' attorneys argue that the high court, on behalf of the Alpers, found that the couple should have been paid fair market value rather than a value tied to the use of the land for a public works project.

"Here, the city is merely attempting to do what the county already failed to accomplish in the Alper case," Las Vegas attorney James Leavitt, who represents Pappas, wrote in a court motion.

"The city has described the 'project' for which Ms. Pappas' property is being taken as the roadway improvements for Simmons Street and Ann Road.

"Accordingly, when valuing the 2.112-acre property being taken from Ms. Pappas, the city appraiser and the jury 'must' disregard any decrease to the fair market value of the (land) that is caused by the construction of Simmons Street and Ann Road on the (land), or by the likelihood that Simmons Street and Ann Road would have been constructed on the 2.112 acres."

But Las Vegas attorney Gregory Walch, who represents North Las Vegas, disputes the proposed application of the Alper ruling in this case.

Walch argues that Pappas can use her parcel for "only very limited uses" without having to dedicate the 2.1 acres in question to the city for use as a street improvement or other public purpose as a condition of obtaining certain land approvals.

"Nevada requires that 'all elements' that affect the value of the property should be considered by the jury in determining just compensation," Walch wrote in a motion. The city, he added, "intends to present evidence that a dedication requirement is one element that affects the value of Pappas' property, and should be considered by the jury in determining just compensation."

Walch said this week that he won a similar eminent domain case for North Las Vegas in District Court, though that case has been appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court.

Steve Kanigher can be reached at 259-4075 or at steve@lasvegassun.com.