Oso landowner cuts money-making deal with state
Jul 9, 2014, 5:03 AM | Updated: 7:32 am
(AP Photo/seattlepi.com, Joshua Trujillo)
When the state needed to get an emergency road built through the Oso slide area, it went to landowners to get the OK to use their properties, but one refused until the state met his demands for a higher price.
The state needed approval from about a dozen property owners to cut the emergency access road that connected Darrington with the rest of the world.
Most didn’t care about the money. They just wanted to get the road open. Most received $500 from the state.
But The Herald reports one landowner refused to grant access unless the state paid him $180,000. The landowner was worried that his property would lose its value after the slide.
The two sides finally agreed on an $85,000 payout before the road was allowed to be built.