METC/ITC right of way acquisition agents are seeking easements for the construction of the new transmission line near Marshall.
ITC right of way agents are contacting people in the Marshall area about a new transmission line. If you have been contacted by ITC, you should review this blog post, which summarizes issues implicated by an ITC taking.
Condemning agencies generally seek to acquire property rights informally, through acquisition agents, before initiating condemnation process. While an agency must strictly comply with the rules governing both the procedures for acquiring property and payment of just compensation, nothing precludes an agency from obtaining easements through voluntary purchases before initiating that process. This type of process is often very disadvantageous to property owners. Right of way agents can be prone to providing inaccurate information both about the rights property owners have and exaggerating the power of eminent domain. Agencies often ask for much more broad and expansive easements than they would seek to acquire in eminent domain because some number of people will grant more extensive rights without fully understanding them.
I have frequently seen the negative impacts on property owners who agree to voluntary easements. For example, property owners who did not hire me granted easements across their farms in the Coldwater area that are broader than what was condemned from my clients. The easements acquired in the eminent domain process are narrower, limiting the scope of the transmission line that can be constructed. In Ann Arbor, owners of office buildings who accepted offers likely placed their properties into a site plan non-conformity due to the removal of vegetation required by the municipality. For my clients, variances were obtained in solving that issue.
If you have been contacted by METC or ITC either for this or another project, feel free to contact me.