A Senate committee has endorsed a bill allowing the state to condemn a person's land for certain "critical" transportation routes planned for the future.

The goal of the measure, SB208, is to allow the Utah Department of Transportation to buy land in advance of building a needed road project, said sponsoring Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse.

At present, UDOT can only condemn land once it has studied a transportation project, determined where that project should be built, and then obtained approval to build the road. Buying land in advance of a project saves millionsof dollars, Killpack said.

"If in an area there is pressure to develop and we may lose a critical piece of the puzzle, the department should be able to act on that before we lose it," Killpack said during committee debate on the measure on Thursday.

Under the legislation the state Transportation Commission would be allowed to define a critical transportation route. Killpack cited one situation in Farmington where the city has denied requests by UDOT to preserve a corridor for a future connector road from the Legacy Parkway to a northward extension of the road.

Killpack said the connector road is critical to linking Legacy northward because there is no other feasible place to build the road, and there is development pressure in the area.

But residents have actively opposed having the connector come through their neighborhoods. They said they were disappointed with Killpack's bill.

"It seems to me they take the citizens' input and just don't even pay any attention to it," said Jason Snow, a Farmington resident. "All the time and effort we put into voicing an opinion and working with the Legislature to find a happy proposal, and now they've gone around the back door and said it doesn't matter."

Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said Thursday she voted for Killpack's bill, but only with the understanding he would work to make it more palatable to residents.

She said she would like to see a measure where residents in critical transportation areas would be required to allow UDOT the first opportunity to bid on their property before selling. If UDOT doesn't want the land, the owner can sell through regular methods. Eminent domain would preferably not be needed.

"I don't want to condemn property and impose eminent domain if I'm not sure that's where it's going to be needed," she said.

Lincoln Shurtz with the League of Cities and Towns said in committee debate his group supported the measure as a way to promote coordination and continuity with major transportation projects. It now moves to the full senate for debate.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com