City initiates eminent domain process for flood project

CEDAR RAPIDS — The city of Cedar Rapids will move forward with eminent domain proceedings to secure a riverfront residence that staff say is critical to securing national certification for its $1.25 billion flood control system.

Cedar Rapids City Council members on Tuesday approved establishing a fair market value of $130,000 for the home located at 1426 First St. NW. The unanimous decision marked the first step toward sending the matter to the Linn County Compensation Commission for condemnation.

The residence is home to Greg Vail and Ajai Dittmar, who rebuilt the structure after it was destroyed in the 2008 flood. It’s the only house left on its block within the Time Check area, a working-class neighborhood that saw widespread flood damage.

Public Works Director Brenna Fall on Tuesday said the city must acquire the property to accommodate an earthen levee project planned for the area as part of the city’s larger $1.25 billion flood control plan.

Without the acquisition, she said, the system would not qualify for certification through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“Certification is really important because that’s what will allow the flood insurance changes that are so important to the community,” Fall said. And “we cannot leave that home there and occupied and still build the flood control system” to certified standards.

The site is one of seven remaining properties the city is looking to acquire as part of its flood control system acquisition program. To date, the city has worked with approximately 1,400 property owners with only eight plots acquired through condemnation.

Homeowners oppose move

The property owners in an online petition have acknowledged the importance of the broader flood control system, but still urged the city to slow down so “both parties can engage in meaningful negotiations without the threat of eminent domain.”

Heading into Tuesday’s meeting, that petition had collected more than 1,500 signatures.

Neither Vail nor Dittmar spoke at the meeting, although several supporters did turn out to share concerns with council members. Among those speakers was Echo Elam, a friend of the homeowners who urged council members to vote against the property’s condemnation.

“You are seriously all sitting here telling people who are living in a home that they have put love, time and money into that they need to uproot their lives,” Elam said while urging the city to make “a good-faith effort” to explore options outside eminent domain.

City Council documents state the property at 1426 First St. NW was first identified as a necessary acquisition in 2015 ahead of the adoption of the city’s broader flood control system master plan. The property owners were approached twice about early acquisition, once in 2017 and once in 2018, without success.

Several years passed while the city focused on other projects, but in November 2025, Fall said city officials sent the homeowners a notification of appraisal to inform them the acquisition process had started in preparation for future levee work.

The appraisal was delivered in April, with a purchase offer sent in May, although no mutual agreement was reached. In August, the city sent notice that it would launch eminent domain proceedings but that staff would continue working with the homeowners toward voluntary acquisition.

“Condemnation typically gets a bad rap, but really is just a part of the process that a government body can use to make sure the property owner is fully compensated,” Fall said.

Next step: Compensation commission

In approving fair market value on the property, council members on Tuesday voted unanimously to take the first step in that condemnation process. The second — referral to the Linn County Compensation Commission — is scheduled for consideration at the Aug. 25 council meeting.

Staff estimate the commission would hold its hearing in November with its ultimate decision rendered at a later date. If a voluntary agreement is reached at any point during that process, condemnation proceedings would end.

Council members made a series of remarks Tuesday acknowledging the sensitive nature of the issue and the validity of homeowners’ connection to the property. Still, consensus reigned among the council that the acquisition was necessary to support the “public good.”

“I don’t think there’s anyone on the dais with me who comes to any decision like this lightly,” City Council member Ashley Vanorny said. “It really comes down to … figuring out what is the fair and reasonable thing here knowing that we’ve got this greater good (to consider).”