Oconee County Superior Court Judge Eric Norris last month issued orders condemning two pieces of property owned by Deferred Tax LLC that are needed by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) for construction of the interchanges of Virgil Langford Road and the Oconee Connector at SR 316.
Norris also granted GDOT additional easements and access rights needed during the construction of the two interchanges.
Norris issued the orders after being informed by Oconee County Superior Court Clerk Angela Elder-Johnson that she holds in deposit the $35,600 that GDOT had offered Deferred Tax for 0.17 acres along the Oconee Connector and the $69,300 offered for 0.48 acres on Virgil Langford Road.
Maxie Price LLC also is listed as a defendant in the condemnation suits. Maxie Price signed as member of Deferred Tax LLC in a separate suit Deferred Tax LLC filed against the county in March of 2023.
That suit followed the decision by the Board of Commissioners in February of 2023 to deny a rezone request from Deferred Tax LLC for the properties bordered by Virgil Langford Road, SR 316, the Oconee Connector, and Mars Hill Road for construction of a retail center with a Publix.
GDOT had initiated condemnation procedures against Deferred Tax LLC in late January.
GDOT in November of last year awarded a $139.4 million contact with Archer Western Construction LLC and Heath & Lineback Engineering Inc. for reconstruction of the SR 316 bundled interchanges with Jimmy Daniell Road, Virgil Langford Road, and the Oconee Connector.
Construction is scheduled to begin later this year and be completed in 2028.
Condemnation Action
GDOT, in taking legal action against Deferred Tax, said it is “ready to pay just and adequate compensation” for the rights of way, easements, and access rights.
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| Connector Intersection With Mars Hill Road (Left) From GDOT Drawings Required Right Of Way In Yellow Required Detour Easement In Green (Click To Enlarge) |
The suit contends that GDOT “has caused an investigation and report to be made by a competent land appraiser” of the value of the properties.
GDOT acknowledges that Deferred Tax has the right to appeal that offer through the Superior Court.
“(I)n order to maintain the projected schedule of road construction of the Department of Transportation,” the suit contends, “it is necessary that the right of way, and other rights, if any, for the construction of said project be acquired without delay.”
Status Of Suit Against County
The stretch of the Oconee Connector that GDOT has acquired by condemnation played a crucial role in the March 2023 suit Deferred Tax filed against the county, as the major access to the 33-acre shopping center was to come from the Connector.
In that 2023 suit, Deferred Tax LLC asked the Oconee County Superior Court to overturn the county’s denial of the rezone request for the shopping center with access at the Oconee Connector and Mars Hill Road.
Deferred Tax LLC argued it has a right to have a full commercial access to the property, including from the Connector, as a result of old agreements with the county and the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The county had placed restrictions on the access from both roads that Deferred Tax did not accept,.
The most recent action on that case was an application for a leave of absence filed by David Ellison, attorney for Deferred Tax, on Feb. 6 of this year.
The most recent substantive action was an order granting a joint motion to reopen discovery for the suit on Dec. 18, 2023.
That case also is before Judge Norris.
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