UDOT loses some potential eminent domain power

A bill allowing the state Department of Transportation to condemn a person's land for certain future transportation routes was amended Wednesday in the House to remove the provision allowing eminent domain.

Now SB208 simply encourages the state and local entities to work together in preserving routes for future roads from development.

"We would like to have the Utah Department of Transportation cooperate with local governments in establishing these corridors," said Rep. Brad Dee, R-Washington Terrace, the bill's House sponsor.

Under the original measure, UDOT would have been allowed to condemn land to preserve routes for roads such as a connector between the Legacy Parkway and a northward extension of the highway. The connector would run through Farmington, and residents and the city have denied UDOT's request to plan for the route.

SB208 must now be approved by the Senate once again because it was amended.