TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH, Plaintiff, v . HERBERT CRABTREE, ET AL., Defendants.

In 1977, Herbert I. Crabtree and Alene C. Holloway (“defendants”) acquired approximately 150 acres of rural, undeveloped farm land in Orange County (“property”) from their father. In 1991, defendants began work to develop the property into a residential subdivision. Among other things, defendants (1) surveyed the boundary of the property; (2) ordered soil analyses done by the Orange County Health Department to determine the property's suitability for septic systems; (3) obtained approval for the location of septic systems on each lot; (4) installed and upgraded underground electrical service; (5) contracted for the provision of electrical service; (6) constructed a new road and improved an existing road providing access to the property; (7)recorded a subdivision plat of the property entitled “Eno West Fork” depicting 14 separate lots; (8) obtained separate Parcel Identification Numbers for each lot; and (9) paid separate tax bills for each lot for five years. Each of the 14 lots were over ten acres, bordered a public road, and had frontage on the Eno River. Defendants also intended to reserve lots for their own use.

In November 1992, defendants learned that their property was under consideration by the City of Hillsborough (“plaintiff”) as the site of plaintiff's new reservoir. Defendants ceased developing their property upon learning it was under consideration for the new reservoir. Nearly four years later, on 17 July 1996, defendants received “official notice” of plaintiff's intent to acquire their property for the new reservoir. On 13 January 1997, plaintiff authorized the acquisition of defendants' property.

Nearly a year after defendants received “official notice,” on 20 June 1997, plaintiff filed an action in Orange County Superior Court to condemn the property. Defendants answered the complaint on 21 October 1997, and prayed, inter alia, for a jury trial on the issue of just compensation. On 20 September 1999, plaintiff filed a pretrial motion to have the trial court determine the interest in the property taken and the proper measure of compensation for the interest in the property taken. Plaintiff sought to have the property treated as a single tract of land for the purposes of valuation. Defendants argued that the property was made up of 14 separate lots at the time of the condemnation. On 28 January 2000 the trial court ordered:1. The Town in this action condemned all 14 lots in the Eno West Fork, which subdivision is depicted on a plat recorded at Plat Book 59, Page 157 of the Orange County Registry.

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Affirmed.

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