Property owners near local trail may be eligible for compensation, attorneys say

A St. Louis-based law firm was in Springfield this week to host a pair of educational meetings advising that adjacent property owners to the Chadwick Flyer Trail may be eligible for compensation as part of the rail-to-trail conversion.  

Attorneys Lindsay Brinton and Meghan Largent of law firm Lewis Rice LLC’s Federal Takings & Rails to Trails practice group were particularly focused on the segment of trail proposed north of Lake Springfield that comprises the area between Kissick Avenue and Sunshine Street. That portion is not in active use by rail line owner BNSF Railway Co. The city of Springfield has been in negotiations with BNSF to acquire the railway corridor that follows north to Sunshine Street in order to proceed with the trail. Progress for the south side of the trail has been steady in Christian County, as BNSF previously abandoned the railroad.  

The trail spans roughly 12 miles of the original Chadwick Flyer rail line that covered almost 17 miles from National Avenue near downtown Springfield to Ozark’s Finley River Trail. It’s designed for cyclists, joggers and walkers.

Largent said the law firm’s presentation, which was attended Monday by around a dozen property owners in the first of two meetings, was not in opposition to the Chadwick Flyer.  

“This is by no means an anti-trail presentation and by no means is anything that we do trying to stop the trail, its development or its funding,” she said. “Our part of this procedure, to the extent there is one, is that we represent the landowners who are going to host this park through their property, and we specifically will work to get them compensated the fair market value of their land.  

“It’s no windfall. This is what is the fair market value of what will be taken for the city and the community to enjoy this trail.”

Via the federal National Trails System Act, which was enacted in 1968 and had a rail section added in 1983, Largent said that the federal government retains jurisdiction of abandoned rails for trail development. It’s due to the possibility that the trail may one day revert back to railroads. Because of the federal law, a Missouri law that states railroad easements return to the landowners upon abandonment is not applicable, Largent said. 

Also, through the law, she said the federal government is using eminent domain to retain jurisdiction over private property. However, under the Fifth Amendment, the government must compensate property owners. 

“The defendant in these cases is the federal government. And I cannot emphasize this enough, we are not suing the city of Springfield or BNSF or any local trail group,” Largent said, noting she has been involved all over the country in rail-to-trail conversion legal cases at her firm for around 20 years. “We will have one and one defendant only in our cases – and that’s the United States.” 

When BNSF applies to abandon their rails to the federal Surface Transportation Board, the process begins for landowners to pursue possible compensation. For abandonment proceedings to begin, the railroad must certify the line has not been used in at least two years and is too expensive to insure and maintain. Then, a trail group can request the STB issue a Notice of Interim Trail Use or Abandonment. Once this notice is issued, it triggers a six-year statute of limitations. 

Through the lawsuit, lawyers would argue for damages, which consist of the property value, interest from the date of the NITU issuance and attorney’s fees and costs. Compensation varies for each landowner depending on their particular property and its relation to the trail project, she said, adding roughly 150 landowners could be affected in the case of the Chadwick Flyer Trail.  

No lawsuit has been filed, and Largent said the firm is just getting out in front of this process in the event it determines legal action is necessary on behalf of any property owners that choose to have them as their legal representative.