http://www.charlotte.com/mobile/story/288267.html
including a nice pic of Josh and the fam...
Frank Abernethy stands on the tracks just behind his business with his sons, Jake, 12,
and Josh, 23. "Nobody told me that when I bought the building," Abernethy said of the N.C. Railroad
Co.'s ownership of the land. (GAYLE SHOMER -- gshomer@charlotteobserver.com)
Posted on Sat, Sep. 22, 2007
Landowners feel railroaded
CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK
Concord auto mechanic Frank Abernethy, struggling to run his small business, was caught off guard by the unannounced visit from the railroad agent.
It was early August when the employee from the state-owned N.C. Railroad Co. showed up at his garage and demanded he sign a lease for $1,200 a year in rent and fees. He also said Abernethy needed $1 million in insurance because his shop sits too close to the tracks.
Even though the mechanic bought the property in 2005, the railroad says it technically owns his land -- and has 19th-century deeds as proof.
"Nobody told me that when I bought the building," Abernethy said this week. "I told the guy, `What are you trying to do, put me out of business?' "
The railroad says there are hundreds of other property owners like Abernethy along its 317-mile line from Charlotte to Morehead City. One day, the company could try to reclaim the disputed parcels. But for now, the railroad just wants rent, said Scott Saylor, railroad president.
It's part of the railroad's push to take back and manage its right of way -- the 200-foot-wide buffer along the tracks.
For years, the railroad didn't know how many businesses were on its property or encroaching on the right of way. But now, the railroad has the mapping technology to identify -- and go after -- those businesses.
Some Concord business owners say they're being harassed by railroad agents who want them to sign lease agreements for using the right of way or for having buildings on disputed land.
N.C. Rep. Jeff Barnhart, a Cabarrus County Republican, is upset about the railroad's treatment of the small-business owners in his district. "It sure does appear to many that the big guys are just trying to take advantage of the little guys," he wrote in a letter last week to the railroad.
Saylor said the disputes stem from surveying errors and lax oversight -- more than 150 years in the making.
"The railroad's charter dates back to an era when there was no development," he said. "Sometimes surveyors would look at the wrong railroad charter and think the right of way was only 100 feet wide."
The railroad currently collects on 233 lease agreements with small businesses along the length of the line, said Kat Christian, a railroad spokeswoman. At least 120 newly identified businesses, including Abernethy's, haven't signed or responded to letters, she said.
New lease agreements would mean extra revenue for the railroad, which is trying to handle an increase in freight traffic and future commuter train projects, such as providing space for portions of Charlotte's transit system, Saylor said.
"Our goal is to make sure the corridor is available for all future uses," he said. "Obviously, Charlotte is a major transportation hub."
Concord is among several trouble spots for the railroad because the tracks run parallel to what were once major highway routes. Unchecked development flourished along those routes, creeping into the railroad's right of way, Saylor said.
The company has no plans to target homeowners, he said. But state law allows railroads to displace anyone -- including homeowners -- living in the right of way, said David Lawrence, a professor of public law and government with the UNC School of Government.
And that worries Abernethy and others who own property near the tracks.
The 54-year-old mechanic said he received a bill from the railroad earlier this month. He returned it along with a hand-written warning: "You will not come into my place of business and upset me or my family again."
Railroad history
The N.C. Railroad Co. operates as a private company, even though the state owns all the stock. It has owned the rail line since 1849 -- a critical period of economic development for North Carolina. The railroad remains a vital artery today, carrying freight and passengers through the state's major population and commercial centers.Even though the state owns the railroad, the line was used and maintained by Norfolk Southern under a 99-year lease that ended in 1995. After four years of court battles, they reached a new accord. Norfolk agreed to track rights for 45 years, while the state kept control of the 200-foot right of way. The General Assembly in 2000 passed a law allowing the state-owned railroad to pursue the right-of-way lease agreements, Saylor said.
Norfolk turned over its records, including existing lease agreements. Saylor said it has taken the past seven years to receive and organize the records, research deeds and old maps and digitally chart the railroad and its right of way.
For the past three years, the railroad has been pursuing new lease agreements with businesses in the right of way. As the digital mapping project nears completion this year, more and more of the parcels and business owners are being identified.
That's where the calls and surprise visits come in.
The railroad has two employees pursuing the lease agreements. They've been working the phones and dropping by businesses unannounced to ask the sometimes-startled owners to sign the agreements, which include 3 percent annual increases. The fees vary from parcel to parcel, but have averaged more than $2,000 each, said Christian, the railroad spokeswoman.
The railroad said it could take Abernethy and the other defiant business owners to court to collect the rent, but hasn't decided whether it will take that step, Saylor said. "We're trying to work with everyone on the line."
`I own the land'
On Thursday, freight trains stopped traffic as they rumbled through the community of small- business owners. The tracks run between Kannapolis Highway and South Ridge Avenue at the edge of the Concord city limits.
Businessman Joe Plott, just down the road from Abernethy, owns six parcels with used car lots and other businesses near the tracks. He was contacted by the railroad, which wants him to pay $6,000 a year plus $1,200 in administrative fees, he said.
He said the railroad's motivation is purely financial: "If they collect $1,200 from every business, they'd never have to run a single train again."
On the other side of the tracks, Rodger Chambers runs European Import Classics on South Ridge. Unlike Abernethy, his building stops at the edge of the right of way, where a black iron stake marks the boundary.
But Chambers parks some cars in the right of way, which is buffered from the tracks by tall overgrown bushes. Last month, a railroad agent stopped by to collect rent, saying the company had noticed his cars from a fly-over in an airplane. He refused to sign a lease and told her to leave.
Two weeks later, she called to ask if he had moved the cars and threatened to put up a barricade to block off the area behind his building, he said. "I told her I didn't have any intention of moving them. I own the land."
Abernethy, who owns Universal Automotive Service on Kannapolis Highway, said he's thinking about hiring a lawyer. He said he purchased the property in good faith for $249,000. He was just getting by with his new business even before the railroad agent visited his shop.
"He's given me a month to comply. He upset my (12-year-old) son so badly he started crying," he said. "I'm not going to pay unless a District Court judge orders me to."
Railroad Dollars
The state-owned N.C. Railroad Co. makes money from its track-rights agreement with Norfolk Southern and various building, roadway, utility and right-of-way lease agreements.
The line accommodates eight Amtrak passenger trains a day, carrying 300,000 passengers a year. It also handles 70 freight trains daily.
N.C. freight traffic has increased 15 percent in five years, said Railroad President Scott Saylor. The railroad claims a $338 million benefit to the N.C. economy, according to a research report from RTI International.
The state railroad cleared $7.16 million last year off $15.53 million in revenue and $8.37 million in expenses.
About $13.86 million of income was from Norfolk Southern and various lease agreements. About $418,000 of it is from 233 lease agreements with small business owners who use the railroad's 200-foot right of way, the company said.
Concerned about the right of way? Call the N.C. Railroad Co. at 919-954-7601.
317 Miles of Leases for N.C. Railroad Co.
The state owns the 317-mile N.C. Railroad Co. line and the 200-foot right of way. It runs from Charlotte to Morehead City. The state-owned company is trying to collect rent from businesses located in the right of way over the years due to surveying errors.
including a nice pic of Josh and the fam...
Frank Abernethy stands on the tracks just behind his business with his sons, Jake, 12,
and Josh, 23. "Nobody told me that when I bought the building," Abernethy said of the N.C. Railroad
Co.'s ownership of the land. (GAYLE SHOMER -- gshomer@charlotteobserver.com)
