Alachua County v. Wagner

ERVIN, Judge.

Alachua County appeals a nonfinal order in an eminent domain proceeding denying its request for fee-simple title and instead granting it a perpetual maintenance easement over certain property owned by appel-lee, Jerry Leon Wagner. Alachua County contends that the trial court erred in concluding that it had not shown a reasonable necessity for the fee-simple taking and erred in requiring the county to show additional factors to justify a taking for a recreational purpose. We agree and reverse.

A narrow, single-lane, unpaved road runs along the south side of the Lake Alto Canal in…