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Woman scores partial win in fight with city By Chris Bristol of the Mail Tribune Laurie Facciuto proved you can beat City Hall, at least morally if not monetarily. A Jackson County jury awarded the Medford woman $46,000 in damages Friday -- twice what the city offered to pay for her front yard, which was paved over last year to widen ever-busy North Phoenix Road. But the jury's decision was not a total victory for the little guy. Facciuto had asked for $65,000 so she could move her turn-of-the-century farmhouse 20 feet back from the road. "She stood up to City Hall," her attorney, Chris Hearn, said. "She feels vindicated to some degree, because the city tried to low-ball her so bad." At issue was the fair market value of Facciuto's property -- before and after road-widening project. But the trial also involved a far more controversial subject to southern Oregonians: urban sprawl. The city had a right under Oregon law to condemn a 15-foot-wide strip in front of the Facciutos' house, which was built in 1895 and once belonged to orchardist Burdette Lynn Dodge. Up to 6,700 dwellings are planned for the newly annexed eastside area, and last year the city widened North Phoenix Road from two lanes to five (not counting a bike lane as well) between Cherry Lane and Barnett. The city offered Facciuto $23,000 for the so-called "taking," but Facciuto argued she deserved three times as much. She bought the property in 1983 and renovated the old house. Once development is complete, she will have only three feet from her front porch to the sidewalk, Hearn said. As a result, Facciuto wanted the city to pay her to move the house back 15 or 20 feet. In closing arguments Friday morning, City Attorney Ron Doyle argued that Facciuto's house is now in "an urban situation" that necessitates a dispassionate legal verdict on fair market value. Professing sympathy for Facciuto, he urged the jury to rule with reason. "The emotional issue should not penalize the other side," he said. In a battle of dueling appraisals, Hearn reminded the jury that a defense expert's appraisal of $65,000 reflected the market value of what was taken and the decline in value of what was left. "She has no room anymore for a buffer between her house and the street," he told the jury. After the verdict, Hearn said the jury indicated in a question to trial Judge Mitchell Karaman that it wanted to give Facciuto $55,000 to move the house -- as long as it could be guaranteed she would use the money for such a purpose. "She would have allowed the stipulation in a heartbeat," he said, "but the law just doesn't allow it." Hearn said he was unsure what his client would do now. "I know she wants to stay," he said. "I'm not sure how she's going to raise the extra money to move her house back, but clearly it's not a good situation the way it is now." In an interview after the verdict, Doyle noted the right-of-way dispute was not the first and won't be the last for the city, which doesn't have bottomless pockets and is accountable to taxpayers. "Life is not static," he said. "Things are changing, and the city has to accommodate growth." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA