But Smiley retained about 6,050 square feet of land.
Smiley sued the city of Dayton in federal court after he claims it unlawfully vacated Shaw Avenue, which accessed the land, and built a public park on the site. The street’s pavement was removed.
Smiley, who declined to comment for this story, argued that the value of his land should be calculated as if it still had road access, because the city did not follow its own procedures for vacating the street.
His lawsuit contended the city was liable for the decreased value of land.
The city, however, argued that Shaw Avenue was never vacated and ODOT — and not the city — was responsible for removing the pavement, according to court documents.
In late 2015, the city filed a counterclaim and petition to appropriate the property in question, saying it made a “good faith offer” to Smiley to purchase the property for its appraised value of $6,000, but he declined.
The Dayton City Commission in 2014 passed two resolutions declaring the city’s intention to appropriate Smiley’s property to use as a public park because it could not negotiate a settlement with him.
But Smiley’s lawsuit claims the city failed to file an appropriation action in the proper time frame.
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