Naperville-area farmer Llyod Hamman has agreed to accept $1.8 million to settle an eminent domain lawsuit, Sunday's Sun reports. DuPage County and the city of Naperville want his 5 acres off Plank Road to continue the $13 million Steeple Run Watershed project, which aims to control serious flooding like the 1996 flood that affected 30 homes on Huffman Street.
But Hamman isn't done in court. On Friday, he filed a civil rights lawsuit against the DuPage County sheriff and 12 other officers, saying his rights were violated two years ago when authorities seized goats and chickens from his property, claiming neglect. He was arrested, but the charges were later dropped, and a judge said the warrantless search of his property was illegal.
Your thoughts on either of these two cases? Let's see, $1.8million for 5 acres works out to $360,000 an acre. Boy, land is expensive these days. What about the civil rights lawsuit? Are you surprised to learn--as court records show--that the county executed an illegal search? This guy's been waiting two years for his goats and chickens. If indeed they were taken from him illegally, what sort of compensation should he receive? What do you think the federal lawsuit will end up costing the county and its taxpayers?
And can anyone know for sure--what is the connection between Lloyd Hamman (guy who lost goats) and the Wheatland Township farm of Don Hamman (brother?), where 12 decomposing goat carcasses were discovered in late April?
Spring Hill does have passive, dry retention basins that were constructed in the park areas. If you look on overhead photos there is a drainage course that connects the park areas. The holding area is the park just east of the farm where the ball diamond, basketball court and sled hill is. This area then drains slowly under the RR tracks. The city re-engineered the area not long ago to slow the drainage under the tracks. When it rains, there is a retention basin; when it's dry, there is a park.
Were the animals neglected on the farm, there should have been photos of them and a veterinary report done when the evaluated. From this, the Sun could tell if the raid was an act of mercy in dire circumstances or something else.
Looking at the land on Google Earth, the neighborhood that I recall with water repeatedly running down the streets is east of the farm and may be called Spring Hill. No ponds or retention areas are apparent on Google Earth in this subdivision.
-Where does their water go?
-Was this subdivision built with adequate rain water storage? If not, why not?
-Their is a large stormwater retention pond adjacent to Huffman Street, and downhill and adjacent to the farm in question, sited in your article; which area does this pond serve?
If the owner wanted to sell his land off for development as houses, or more likely spot zoned for townhouses these days, what could he get for it?
-Four houses per acre at $250k a lot, five acres = $5 million dollars. Assuming $500K to develop the property with sewers and roads etc, which leaves $4.5 million instead of the $1.8 he is getting. Anyone have better numbers?
Is this another case of bad faith negotiation by a local government attempting to get land below market?
Is the City trying to fix a mistake of the past in the Spring Hill subdivision? If yes, who made the mistake and why, who benefited?
Would it be cheaper to make the Spring Hill Parks into retention areas for storm water by digging them a few feet deeper?
Wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy out the 30 homes on Huffman street and not spend $13 million (with, I believe, approx. $10 million of city funds) on a flood control project?
T.B.