North Liberty moves forward with sewer line despite landowner’s lawsuit

NORTH LIBERTY - Gary Weinman walked through his prairie on a frigid afternoon Friday with warm memories.

'It would just put a stake through my heart for them to do this,” he said, tearing up. 'My daughter got married under those trees.”

Weinman, a Johnson County property owner, in November filed a lawsuit against the City of North Liberty to try to stop the construction of a sewer line on his property - a sewer line which would in part serve the Iowa City Community School District's proposed Liberty High School.

He was given notice Friday that the city has set a condemnation hearing for Feb. 13. The hearing would allow the city to move forward with the sewer construction.

Weinman and one of his attorneys said they will seek a temporary injunction from a court to stop that process based on environmental and jurisdictional concerns.

That attempt that does not stand a good chance of succeeding, according to Kevin Caster, a Cedar Rapids attorney who has experience in eminent domain cases.

'I can't guarantee you that a court is going to interpret this in the city's favor,” Caster said. 'But my hunch is the city's in a better position on this argument than the property owner is.”

Implications for school

Stephen Murley, the Iowa City district's superintendent, said last month that a sewer-line delay could result in a delay in the construction and opening of Liberty High School, making the project more expensive.

'Construction inflation runs anywhere from 6 to 12 percent per year,” Murley said.

The potential delay poses problems for the district, Murley said, because Liberty High School has been planned in part to alleviate overcrowding at the district's other two schools.

If the project's costs do increase, Murley said, the district would have to reduce the size of the new high school or take money away from other construction projects.

The district is moving forward with the project nevertheless, Murley said.

'We've been assured by the City of North Liberty that they'll be able to provide the appropriate hookup,” he said.

Environmental concerns

The two sides disagree on three major points: the city's authority to condemn Weinman's property, the environmental impact of the project, and the viability of an alternate route.

Weinman and his attorneys argue that the city cannot condemn his property because it is in unincorporated Johnson County, and that the city has not conducted a proper environmental impact study regarding two endangered species, the ornate box turtle and the Indiana bat.

They say the alternate route, which would run closer to the proposed extension of Forevergreen Road, is more direct and less harmful to the environment.

The city believes it is in full compliance with state and federal environmental law, Peterson said.

'We think it's clear that the city has the authority to condemn property outside the city limits when necessary when it's to support a basic utility such as water or sewer,” he added.

As for the alternate route, city administrator Ryan Heiar said it would cost about $1.5 million more to construct, because the city would have to dig deeper to make the line flow downhill.

'The deep cut route is not in the best interest of the community or the people who use the system,” Heiar said. 'It's just not.” Caster said most cases like Weinman's do not result in an injunction and become about compensation for damages. Weinman's initial petition doesn't hold a lot of promise at first glance, he said.

'While it raises a lot of points, none of those points are obvious winners,” Caster said.

Weinman said he isn't interested in financial compensation.

'I want no money,” he said. 'I don't want money. This doesn't have anything to do with money. It has to do with protecting this little piece of property that I've put my heart and soul into for the last 30 years. Money couldn't touch it.”