The state of Oregon has filed an eminent domain lawsuit against the owners of Paizano's Pizza in Baker City seeking a temporary easement to build a wheelchair-accessible curb ramp at 10th and D streets.

The state of Oregon has filed a second eminent domain lawsuit seeking an easement across private property on 10th Street in north Baker City as part of a street improvement project.

Allie M. Boyd, an assistant attorney general in the Oregon Department of Justice, filed the lawsuit Tuesday, March 5 in Baker County Circuit Court.

The defendants are Paizano’s Pizza Inc., Bad Barkley’s LLC and U.S. Bank National Association. The property, which includes Paizano’s Pizza, is at 2940 10th St., at the corner of 10th and D streets.

The state is seeking a temporary easement, not a permanent one.

Eminent domain, also known as condemnation, is the legal process by which the government gains control over property for a public purpose, such as building or improving a street or road. Typically a jury or judge decides how much the government pays the property owner.

The state is requesting a 12-person jury trial.

The state is seeking temporary easements — for three years or the duration of the street project, whichever is shorter — for two parts of the property. One contains about 347 square feet, the other about 836 square feet.

The value of the easements is $1,400, according to the lawsuit.

The state tried to negotiate an agreement to buy the easements but did not reach a deal, which prompted the lawsuit.

The state needs the easements for a “driveway/road approach reconnection,” according to the lawsuit.

An offer the state made to the property owners states that the access to the Paizano’s parking lot from D Street would be moved about 7.7 feet to the east, and rebuilt with a width of 20 feet.

The project also would require removing a sprinkler head, about 10 feet of water pipe, 85 square feet or sod and two concrete parking bumpers.

Liz White, co-owner of Paizano’s with her husband, Stephen, said on Thursday, March 7 that state officials have told them they plan to widen the south entrance to the restaurant’s parking lot, off D Street, as part of a project to build wheelchair-accessible sidewalk ramps.

A contractor for the state build such ramps at several dozen intersections in Baker City in 2022 and 2023.

Liz White said she and her husband have declined to accept the state’s offer of $1,400 because they believe the potential loss of parking spaces, as well as landscaping, would cost them more than that.

She also said that although the state is seeking a temporary easement, the potential loss of parking spaces “sounds permanent to me.”

Earlier lawsuit

On Dec. 19, 2023, the state filed an eminent domain lawsuit against Baker City Auto Ranch seeking a permanent easement to build a sidewalk in front of the car dealership, owned by Todd McCurry of Idaho, at 2514 10th St., three blocks south of Paizano’s.

The estimated value of the property, which totals about 232 square feet, is $2,600, according to the lawsuit.

That suit was settled in February, according to a notice of dismissal that a state attorney filed Feb. 14.

The state then paid the property owner $2,600 for the permanent easement.