Ocoee commission drops eminent domain pursuit for cemetery property

The Ocoee City Commission decided against acquiring a 1-acre cemetery located at 441 Basking Ridge Court during its meeting Tuesday, June 16.

The city currently mows and maintains the property, but after unsuccessful attempts to contact the listed owners, the commission — during its meeting Jan. 7, 2020 — asked city staff to work with the city’s eminent domain attorney about acquiring the property.

Since then, the numbers that have been given to the city are higher than originally estimated, said city attorney Scott Cookson. 

“As part of that process, the city’s attorney acquired an appraisal of the property, which is kind of the first step in doing a taking — or condemnation of this sort — and the appraisal has not been finalized, but the early indications on that appraisal are that the property would be valued in excess of $60,000,” Cookson said. “We were anticipating the appraisal to come in much less than that, because the property has been designated as a cemetery for quite some time.

“The appraiser has indicated that there was insufficient evidence to establish that it’s a cemetery, so it was his opinion that it needed to be appraised for its highest and best use as residential lots, which is why the amount came in as $60,000,” he said.  

Initially the expectation was the cost would have been between $15,000 and $20,000 — including attorney fees — with the direction to go forward with the condemnation of the property.

Now, based on the appraisal, the price could be anywhere between $20,000 to $100,000 if the city went ahead with the process. If an owner were to surface, the cost would be toward the higher end of that spectrum, Cookson said.

Cookson presented two options for the commission: Continue forward to acquire it or keep maintaining as the city has been doing for the last 15 to 20 years. It all depended on the plans for the property, he said.

“If we’re going to do just kind of passive improvements — put a gazebo or we’re going to put park benches — then it’s probably not worth the money to spend to acquire it,” Cookson said. “We still have right to maintain it as a cemetery. If we were going to do something more substantial — construct a building — then it probably makes sense to go through to acquire the property.”

The commission met the news with questions about specifics regarding numbers and ultimately agreed to  keep maintaining the property.

“Well, I’m for keeping like we’re doing,” Mayor Rusty Johnson said. “I don’t want to spend up to $100,000, you know?”

“Who is the appraiser?” Commissioner and Mayor Pro-Tem Larry Brinson asked. “Five-hundred-percent markup on this? I don’t understand, and I’ve been in finance. … I understand real estate; I understand numbers.”

After fielding questions and working through specifics, Cookson suggested ceasing the eminent domain action while allowing the city continue to maintain the property and having city staff put together a beautification plan that could be placed into next year’s budget. The motion carried unanimously.