Scottsdale forgoes appeal in eminent domain case

Saying it’s time to “move on,” Scottsdale leaders Tuesday declined to appeal a jury verdict in the Toll Bros. eminent domain trial that requires the city to pay the developers nearly $50 million more than expected.

Scottsdale loses in Sonoran Preserve land seizure appeal

The City Council voted unanimously to let the $82 million Maricopa County Superior Court judgment stand, even though officials had estimated the value of the land — 383 acres condemned for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve — at only $34 million.

“We were given no great hope that we would be successful in the future,” Vice Mayor Wayne Ecton said. “I think this is the right decision at this stage.”

Councilman Jim Lane called the jury verdict “a difficult thing to swallow,” and said he plans to call for the establishment of a fact-finding commission to examine how the city goes about acquiring land.

“If we’re going to buy land for the preserve, we’re going to have to get better at it than this. The consequences are significant,” Lane said. “There is not an unlimited amount of money available for the preserve.”

The city condemned the land, situated east of Thompson Peak Parkway between Bell Road and Union Hills Drive, in 2004. Officials estimated the land’s value at the time at close to $34 million, while Toll Bros.’ lawyers pegged it at about $107 million.

Officials with the court have called the $82 million judgment a “defense verdict” favorable to Toll Bros.

“It’s not a happy outcome, but we have to live with it and move on, and make the best preserve we can for future generations,” Councilwoman Betty Drake said.

The city plans to turn the land into the Gateway access area for the preserve, with parking, trailheads and restrooms. It’s also the planned site of the multimillion dollar Desert Discovery Center, an interpretative nature center.

Mayor Mary Manross said when the project is complete, Scottsdale residents will appreciate the city’s efforts.

“The bottom line is, this land has been considered to be indispensable to the completion of our preserve vision,” Manross said. “I think the community is going to say, ‘Thank goodness we acquired this land.’”

The city paid Toll Bros. $44.1 million at the time of condemnation, based on a probable damages estimate set by the court, officials have said. Now that the jury has rendered a verdict, the city is bound to pay Toll Bros. the balance of the $82 million amount.

The money will come from a $20 million bond issue the council authorized last month, as well as from sales tax revenue in the city’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve Fund.

The bond issue will not require a public vote, since the money will come from a previously approved $500 million bond issue in 2004.

Several post-trial motions, such as the city’s request for a new trial, are still before the court. Scottsdale has spent nearly $2.5 million on legal fees in the case.

Toll Bros. verdict appeal vote

WHAT: Scottsdale City Council meeting

WHEN: 5 p.m. today

WHERE: City Council, 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd.

INFO: (480) 312-2412 or www.scottsdaleaz.gov