Improper Acquisition of Land in St. Louis by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Pursuant to St. Louis Ordinance 69977, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) expanded its base in St. Louis, Missouri, to accommodate technological changes that would not be possible at the current base. That led to the acquisition of land belonging to private individuals and entities. In the acquisition of that land, NGA failed to follow the law and correct procedures. The agency contravened provisions of 49 CFR 24 which provides for Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition for Federal and Federally-Assisted Programs.
NGA failed to provide property owners with notices. The notices were supposed to be served personally upon the property owners or sent by certified or registered first-class mail, return receipt requested and documented in NGA files.
NGA failed to maintain records of its acquisition and displacement activities in sufficient detail. Despite multiple attempts by Mr. Jim Osher, a citizen and resident of St. Louis, to make NGA maintain such records, NGA has repeatedly failed to do so. The agency also failed to conduct a proper valuation of property in the greater St. Louis area where it plans to expand its base.
NGA did not follow the required appraisal criteria. The appraisals that were conducted did not reflect established and commonly accepted Federal and federally-assisted program appraisal practice. The agency did not give an adequate description of the physical characteristics of the property being appraised. The agency also failed to provide a description of comparable sales, a statement of value of the property to be acquired and a statement of the value of damages and benefits.
NGA failed to cover expenses in connection to available nearby utilities from the right-of-way to improvements at the replacement site, professional services performed prior to the purchase or lease of a replacement site to determine its suitability for the displaced people’s business operations, and impact fees for one-time assessments for anticipated heavy utility usage.
NGA failed to provide replacement housing payments for homeowner occupants who had occupied the land for more than 180 days. The payments that the agency has failed to provide include amounts by which the cost of the land exceeds the cost of the replacement dwellings of the former occupants, increased interest costs and other debt service costs incurred in connection with the mortgages on the replacement dwellings of the former occupants, and expenses incidental to the purchase of replacement dwellings by the occupants.
NGA failed to provide replacement housing payments for tenants and homeowner occupants who had occupied the land for more than 90 days. For tenants, the payment should be 42 times the amount obtained by subtracting the base monthly rental from the lesser of the monthly rent and estimated average monthly cost of utilities for a comparable replacement dwelling or the monthly rent and estimated average monthly cost of utilities for the decent, safe and sanitary replacement dwelling occupied by the displaced tenant. Payments to homeowners and tenants eligible for down payment assistance were not disbursed.
NGA also contravened 42 U.S. Code § 4622 which provides for moving and related expenses by failing to provide payments to displaced persons for actual reasonable expenses in moving themselves, actual direct losses of tangible personal property as a result of moving or discontinuing a business or farm operation, actual reasonable expenses in searching for a replacement business or farm, and actual reasonable expenses necessary to reestablish a displaced farm, NGO, or business at the new dwelling.
NGA occupied the property before the State of Missouri made all payments and provided all assistance and assurances to homeowners and tenants affected by the acquisition. The State of Missouri ought to have paid the cost of these requirements in the same manner and to the same extent as the real property acquired for occupancy by NGA. In doing so, the State of Missouri and NGA contravened 42 U.S. Code § 4627.
NGA failed to follow the policies for real property acquisition outlined in 42 U.S. Code § 4651 as follows:
(1) The head of a Federal agency shall make every reasonable effort to acquire expeditiously real property by negotiation.
(2) Real property shall be appraised before the initiation of negotiations, and the owner or his designated representative shall be given an opportunity to accompany the appraiser during his inspection of the property, except that the head of the lead agency may prescribe a procedure to waive the appraisal in cases involving the acquisition by sale or donation of property with a low fair market value.
(3) Before the initiation of negotiations for real property, the head of the Federal agency concerned shall establish an amount which he believes to be just compensation therefor and shall make a prompt offer to acquire the property for the full amount so established. In no event shall such amount be less than the agency’s approved appraisal of the fair market value of such property. Any decrease or increase in the fair market value of real property prior to the date of valuation caused by the public improvement for which such property is acquired, or by the likelihood that the property would be acquired for such improvement, other than that due to physical deterioration within the reasonable control of the owner, will be disregarded in determining the compensation for the property. The head of the Federal agency concerned shall provide the owner of real property to be acquired with a written statement of, and summary of the basis for, the amount he established as just compensation. Where appropriate the just compensation for the real property acquired and for damages to remaining real property shall be separately stated.
(4) No owner shall be required to surrender possession of real property before the head of the Federal agency concerned pays the agreed purchase price, or deposits with the court in accordance with section 3114(a) to (d) of title 40, for the benefit of the owner, an amount not less than the agency’s approved appraisal of the fair market value of such property, or the amount of the award of compensation in the condemnation proceeding for such property.
(5) The construction or development of a public improvement shall be so scheduled that, to the greatest extent practicable, no person lawfully occupying real property shall be required to move from a dwelling (assuming a replacement dwelling as required by subchapter II will be available), or to move his business or farm operation, without at least ninety days’ written notice from the head of the Federal agency concerned, of the date by which such move is required.
(6) If the head of a Federal agency permits an owner or tenant to occupy the real property acquired on a rental basis for a short term or for a period subject to termination by the Government on short notice, the amount of rent required shall not exceed the fair rental value of the property to a short-term occupier.
(7) In no event shall the head of a Federal agency either advance the time of condemnation, or defer negotiations or condemnation and the deposit of funds in court for the use of the owner, or take any other action coercive in nature, in order to compel an agreement on the price to be paid for the property.
(8) If any interest in real property is to be acquired by exercise of the power of eminent domain, the head of the Federal agency concerned shall institute formal condemnation proceedings. No Federal agency head shall intentionally make it necessary for an owner to institute legal proceedings to prove the fact of the taking of his real property.
(9) If the acquisition of only a portion of a property would leave the owner with an uneconomic remnant, the head of the Federal agency concerned shall offer to acquire that remnant. For the purposes of this chapter, an uneconomic remnant is a parcel of real property in which the owner is left with an interest after the partial acquisition of the owner’s property and which the head of the Federal agency concerned has determined has little or no value or utility to the owner.
(10) A person whose real property is being acquired in accordance with this subchapter may, after the person has been fully informed of his right to receive just compensation for such property, donate such property, and part thereof, any interest therein, or any compensation paid therefor to a Federal agency, as such person shall determine.
By contravening the foregoing provisions, NGA and the State of Missouri violated the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. The Fifth Amendment provides as follows: “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. NGA compulsorily acquired private property for the purpose of expanding its base in St. Louis without offering adequate compensation. This violation is a threat to the rights and liberty of the people of St. Louis to own their land and not to have it taken for
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public use without compensation and/or measures to restore them to the position they were before the acquisition.