What is reasonable access?
When and how do we go
about measuring
severance damages due to
a change in access?
NOTE: Reasonableness is a question of fact determined in a
court of law. It is not an appraisal requirement.
A. CRITERIA FOR ESTABLISHING “REASONABLE ACCESS”
Under Wisconsin statutory and case law, the condemnor is responsible for
providing property owners with reasonable access when it exercises its rights
to regulate access in the public interest. Neither case law nor statutory
regulations clearly define the standards or criteria for reasonable access.
Whether there is reasonable access in the “After” condition depends on the
specific facts of a case.
A list of important considerations for reasonable access follows. The list was
developed by John Stockham, who has served as an access specialist. I have
added a few appraisal points.
1)
Traffic Safety
• Is the Before access safe from a traffic movement perspective?
• Does the After access provide an improvement in traffic safety over the Before access?
• Not a good idea for appraiser to testify about improved safety, but general comments
about improved traffic flow are important points. Spend time at site observing traffic
flow.
2)
Visibility
• Is visibility of the business impacted by the improvement?
• Does the driver have reasonable access options to enter the place of business after seeing
it?
• Can driver easily see access driveways?
3)
Travel Time Needed for Access
• Is the driving distance and time to reach the place of business from the highway frontage
reasonable?
• Type of business must be considered here – convenience or destination.
4)
Site Suitability
Is the site as suitable a location for the business after highway and access improvements as it
was before access improvements?
5)
Comparability with Competing Businesses
Is access to the place of business comparable to the access for similar businesses in other
locations?
6)
Costs
Will the business experience any direct loss or indirect costs as a result of the change in
access?
7)
Zoning
Will access changes impact zoning or other land use regulations?
8)
Legal Access
Is the Before access a legally transferable interest. Make sure appropriate permits have been
obtained.
CASE STUDY
See following Before value and After value aerials developed by
John Stockham for case study project. In Before condition, the
property has good access from a frontage road, but experiences a
stacking problem at the traffic light.
In After condition, the stacking problem is relieved, but subject
driveways are not easily visible due to closure of the frontage road
access point. Route to subject is much more circuitous and not
intuitive. Access not well suited to design of existing building.
Building oriented to front access points and fast food drive-thru.
After condition access is from the side and from behind the
building.
We determined that the change in access has a negative impact on
the market value of the property in this case.
BEFORE VALUE INGRESS
AFTER VALUE INGRESS
B. MEASURING SEVERANCE DAMAGES
DUE TO CHANGE IN ACCESS
1) Vacant Land
a) Paired Sales – must isolate access from location.
b) Absent Paired Sales - qualitative adjustment weighted relative to other adjustments
based on importance. Land use is key. Convenience retail access most critical.
c) If HBU change, new set of comparables should be selected that address new use.
2)
Improved Properties - No change in HBU as Improved
a) Land value impact may be sufficient.
Note: If similar buildings are being built with similar or inferior access, it may be
difficult to defend damage claims that extend to the building improvements.
b) Can separate land value from overall improved value to isolate building value. Adjust
building value independently for inferior functional utility if appropriate to derive After
value of building. Then add After value of land to After value of building.
c) Convert estimated retail loss to value loss if direct relationship can be supported.
Note: Change in gasoline volume due to access change might be a good technique for
developing an After value of a gasoline station if reasonable argument can be made for
volume loss. Here value is frequently based on gasoline sales volume.
3) Improved Properties - Change in HBU as Improved
Analyze (a) and (b) below and select the highest After value conclusion.
a) New set of improved comparables should be selected that addresses new use in After
condition. Deduct the cost to retrofit the building for new use from the After value.
b) After value = After value of land only less cost to raze building.
IN CONCLUSION
I hope this presentation has provided
you with a good INROAD...
to a better understanding of access.