Lompa land appraisals vary wildly

There's a $16 million difference between appraisals conducted by the Lompa family and the state for land needed to complete the Carson City bypass.

The family is arguing in court the 82 acres are worth far more than the $2.8 million the state offered in June 2002.

Two state appraisers valued the land at $1.95 million and $1.7 million in September 2002, according to Lompa family attorney Laura FitzSimmons.

The Attorney General's Office, handling the case for the Department of Transportation, would not comment on those figures Wednesday.

"Our opinion is that appraisal is not a public document until it appears in a court of law," said Tom Sargent, spokesman for the office. "We are disappointed that the opposing counsel has chosen to play this out in a court of public opinion prior to the court of law."

Two appraisers hired by the Lompas came up with much higher values. In early March Jim Himes of Southern California valued the land at $15.3 million.

"That's based on comparable raw-land sales," said FitzSimmons.

Ron Hendricks of Grass Valley, Calif., listed the land's value at about $18 million. "That's based on the thought process of a developer," FitzSimmons said.

She called the state's appraisals insulting and unfair. "Thank goodness the people who wrote the Constitution realized you can't trust the government when they're going to seize your land. We're going to have to go to trial - I don't see any other way around it."

A trial is set for June 1. Carson City's two district judges, Michael Griffin and William Maddox, recused themselves from the case because of their friendship with the Lompas. A senior judge from Las Vegas is expected to preside.

Part of the reason for the wildly varied values is the Lompa appraisers are including payment for damage done to ranch land not used in the bypass - about 350 acres. Having a freeway running through the land decreases its value, FitzSimmons said.

"The Lompa section of the bypass is the only section where they will not be building sound-proof walls. (The state) is basically carving their land into quarters."

The 430-acre ranch, owned for the past 70 years by the Lompas, was home to dairy cows before it switched to a beef cattle ranch 35 years ago. Eva Lompa lived on the property with her son, Sam, and his family until her death in July at 88. Sam and Duana Lompa are still ranching the land today.

The state purchased two parcels last year from the Lompas for $1.8 million. Situated along Fifth Street, they are home to a storage business owned by the family.

Department of Transportation crews started work in October on a drainage system on the disputed land under a right-of-entry ruling.

The first phase of the bypass, including four bridges, was completed in April 2002, according to Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Magruder.

Phase 1B, including a bridge over Highway 50 East at the Pinon Plaza, a bridge over the north end of Carson Street and the paving of the north half of the bypass, is next on the list.

Magruder said the Lompa land is "a big part of the puzzle" for the 4.9-mile second phase from Highway 50 to the base of Spooner, scheduled to be completed by 2010.

The state has budgeted $160 million for the second phase, not including the purchase price of the Lompa land, Magruder said.

"That's mainly for construction, I think," he said.

There has been talk of building a bypass around downtown Carson City since the 1950s. Current plans to route the bypass across the Lompa ranch are similar to those in a 1958 proposal called "Carson City - A General Plan Study."

Contact Karl Horeis at khoreis@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.