Myrtle Beach Condemnation & Eminent Domain Lawyers

When a Public Project Reaches Your Property, the Details Matter

Road improvements, utility projects, drainage work, public infrastructure, and transportation expansion can require the acquisition of private property.

Sometimes the government needs an entire parcel. More often, it may seek only part of a property: road frontage, a permanent easement, a temporary construction easement, access rights, or another interest in the land.

But a relatively small taking can have a much larger effect.

A project that takes only a strip of land may also affect parking, access, visibility, drainage, traffic flow, building setbacks, development potential, or the value of the property that remains.

Stevens Law Firm, P.C. represents property owners facing condemnation and eminent-domain issues in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Horry County, and throughout the Grand Strand.

If you have received a condemnation notice, appraisal, easement request, right-of-way offer, or other communication concerning your property, we can help you understand what is being proposed and what rights may be at stake. Call Stevens Law Firm, P.C. at (843) 663-0127.

What Is Condemnation in South Carolina?

Eminent domain is the government's legal power, and in some circumstances the power of another authorized entity, to acquire private property for a public use.

Condemnation is the legal process used to exercise that power.

South Carolina condemnation proceedings are governed primarily by the South Carolina Eminent Domain Procedure Act.

The important question for many property owners is therefore not simply: “Can they take this?” It may also be: “If they can take it, what am I entitled to receive for everything I am losing?”

Condemnation Is Not Always a Total Taking

A condemning authority does not need to acquire your entire property for the project to substantially affect its value. A condemnation can involve:

• Road frontage and right-of-way
• Utility and drainage easements
• Temporary construction easements
• Driveways, curb cuts, and access areas
• Parking areas
• Portions of commercial parcels
• Vacant or development land
• Entire parcels

For commercial property owners in the Myrtle Beach area, the practical impact can sometimes be particularly significant. A road project might take only part of a parcel while changing how customers reach the business, reducing parking, altering signage visibility, changing traffic circulation, or limiting future improvements.

Those issues deserve careful consideration before a property owner concludes that the value of the taking can be measured simply by multiplying square footage by a price per foot.

The Government's First Offer Is Not Necessarily the Final Answer

Before initiating a condemnation action, South Carolina law generally requires the condemnor to have the property appraised to determine what it considers just compensation. The appraisal must be made available to the landowner, and the statute requires reasonable and diligent efforts to negotiate compensation before formal proceedings begin.

That appraisal is important. But an appraisal is still an opinion of value.

Questions may arise concerning:

• Which comparable properties were used
• Whether the highest and best use was properly considered
• Whether development potential was recognized
• How access was valued
• Whether parking losses were considered
• Whether the remaining parcel was adequately analyzed
• Whether easements affect future use
• Whether the project changes the property's configuration
• Whether the project reduces the market value of what remains

In significant cases, an independent appraisal or other expert analysis may reveal issues that were not fully reflected in the condemning authority's initial valuation.

Just Compensation Can Include More Than the Land Taken

One of the most important concepts in a partial-taking case is the effect on the remaining property. Consider a commercial parcel along a heavily traveled Myrtle Beach corridor where a proposed project takes 20 feet from the front. The condemnor may place a value on that strip of land, but the real questions may include:

• Does the taking eliminate parking spaces?
• Does it interfere with a driveway or restrict turning movements?
• Is the building now closer to the roadway?
• Is signage less visible or does drainage change?
• Can the property still be developed as originally planned?
• Is the remaining parcel less attractive to future buyers or tenants?

South Carolina's condemnation framework recognizes compensation issues involving the property taken and damage to the remaining property. That distinction can be critical.

Condemnation of Commercial Property in Myrtle Beach

Commercial condemnation cases can involve considerations that do not arise with ordinary residential property. For a business or investment property, value may be affected by factors such as:

• Highway access, curb cuts, and traffic circulation
• Visibility, signage, and parking
• Delivery access and lot configuration
• Zoning restrictions, setbacks, and development density
• Stormwater requirements and future expansion
• Tenant use and redevelopment potential

A seemingly narrow right-of-way acquisition can affect the utility of an entire commercial parcel. Stevens Law Firm, P.C. can help property owners evaluate the proposed acquisition in the context of the property as a whole.

Road Projects and Condemnation in Horry County

The Myrtle Beach area continues to experience substantial transportation and infrastructure development. Horry County's road program includes major projects such as the continued development of SC Highway 31, which the County describes as a limited-access freeway project extending Carolina Bays Parkway northward toward the North Carolina state line.

Road expansion and transportation projects can require acquisition of right-of-way, permanent easements, temporary construction areas, drainage rights, access changes, or portions of adjacent parcels. Property owners along developing transportation corridors may therefore encounter acquisition requests well before construction begins.

What Should I Do If I Receive a Condemnation Notice?

Do not throw the packet into a drawer. The notice may contain important deadlines and information about the property interest being acquired, the condemning authority's valuation, maps or plans, the amount being offered, and the procedure being used. Keep the entire package, including the envelope or delivery documentation.

You should also preserve surveys, deeds, easements, existing appraisals, site plans, development plans, leases, property photographs, parking layouts, access information, zoning documents, and correspondence with the condemning authority. For a commercial property, photographs showing the property before construction begins can be especially useful.

Do Condemnation Notices Have Deadlines?

Yes, and they can be important. The South Carolina Eminent Domain Procedure Act contains specific procedural requirements affecting landowners after a condemnation notice has been served. A property owner who wants to dispute not merely the amount offered but the condemnor's legal right to take the property may face particularly important procedural requirements. Because the consequences of missing a statutory deadline can be significant, a property owner should have formal condemnation papers reviewed promptly.

Can I Stop the Government From Taking My Property?

Sometimes the dispute is over value. In other cases, a property owner may question whether the condemning entity has the legal authority to take the particular property or interest being sought. Those are different issues.

A challenge to the right to condemn requires analysis of the condemnor's authority, the purpose of the acquisition, the property interest being sought, and the applicable statutory procedure. Not every condemnation can be stopped. But property owners should not assume that every proposed acquisition is automatically beyond review.

What Is Inverse Condemnation?

Most condemnation cases begin with the government formally initiating the acquisition process. But a property owner may sometimes claim that government action has effectively taken or substantially interfered with a protected property interest even though no traditional condemnation proceeding was filed. That is generally referred to as inverse condemnation.

South Carolina courts recognize that inverse condemnation may arise from a physical appropriation of private property or from certain government-imposed limitations on the use of property. Potential issues can involve:

• Physical occupation of private property
• Certain drainage or flooding conditions
• Access interference
• Permanent governmental intrusions
• Other substantial interference with protected property rights

Not every government action that reduces property value amounts to inverse condemnation. These claims are highly dependent on the specific facts and the property right involved.

What About Access to My Property?

Access can be one of the most valuable characteristics of real estate, particularly commercial property. A road project may affect driveway locations, direct highway access, left-turn access, customer entry, delivery access, and traffic circulation.

South Carolina courts have addressed property-right disputes involving access and government takings. The precise legal effect depends upon the nature of the access right and the degree of interference. For Myrtle Beach commercial property, access should be evaluated as part of the entire property, not as an afterthought.

What Professionals May Be Needed in a Condemnation Case?

Condemnation cases often depend on both legal and valuation evidence. Depending upon the property and dispute, a case may involve real-estate appraisers, surveyors, engineers, land planners, traffic engineers, commercial real-estate professionals, contractors, development consultants, and other valuation specialists.

An office building on Highway 17 presents different valuation questions than undeveloped acreage. A hotel, restaurant, retail property, residential parcel, marina-related property, or development tract may each require a different analysis.

Should I Sign an Easement or Right-of-Way Agreement?

Before signing, understand exactly what rights are being conveyed. Questions may include:

• Is the easement permanent or temporary, and how wide is it?
• Where is it located and what construction is permitted?
• Who maintains the area and will the owner retain access?
• Can structures or landscaping remain?
• Does the easement restrict future construction?
• Are utilities included, and what happens after temporary construction ends?

An easement can affect property long after the immediate project is completed.

Can Condemnation Cases Go to Trial?

Yes. When the property owner and condemning authority cannot agree on compensation, South Carolina's statutory procedure provides mechanisms for determining just compensation, potentially including court proceedings and trial.

The ultimate dispute may involve competing appraisals, comparable sales, expert testimony, surveys, plans, and evidence concerning the effect of the project on the remaining property.

How Stevens Law Firm Can Help

A condemnation case should not be reduced to a single number on an offer sheet. Stevens Law Firm, P.C. can help a property owner examine what property is actually being taken, what rights are being acquired, the condemnor's appraisal, the value of the property taken, damage to the remaining property, access, parking, visibility, easements, drainage, property configuration, development potential, commercial-property impacts, applicable deadlines, whether additional appraisal or expert work is appropriate, negotiation of compensation, and litigation/trial prep when the parties cannot reach an agreement.

We Look at the Property That Remains

For many landowners, the value of the condemnation claim cannot be understood by looking only at the acreage or square footage being acquired. What happens to the rest of the property may be just as important as what is physically taken. That is where careful analysis matters.

Frequently Asked Questions About South Carolina Condemnation

Talk With a Myrtle Beach Condemnation Lawyer

If your property is affected by a highway project, road widening, drainage project, public improvement, utility easement, or another proposed taking, you should understand both what is being acquired and what the project may do to the property you keep.

Stevens Law Firm, P.C. represents property owners in condemnation and eminent-domain matters throughout Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Horry County, and the Grand Strand.