Governor vetoes eminent domain ban inspired by Mill Creek MetroParks bike trail battle

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday vetoed a budget amendment partly inspired by the six-year-long battle to connect the Mill Creek Metroparks Bikeway and the Little Beaver Greenway.

The amendment would have largely prevented state and local governments from using eminent domain to acquire private property for recreational trail construction.

DeWine stated that the provision, which had limited exceptions, would "unnecessarily limit options for public projects to ensure adequate safety for bike riders, forcing more cyclists to share the road with cars and trucks." He emphasized the public safety implications, citing Ohio Department of Public Safety data that nearly 900 bicyclists have been killed or seriously injured in crashes with automobiles since 2020."

The veto comes amidst ongoing legal battles over land acquisition for such projects. One notable case, which helped inspire the budget amendment, involved Mill Creek MetroParks in Mahoning County.

A Mahoning County Judge ruled against the park district last November in its six-year fight to use eminent domain to take property from seven landowners for a 6.4-mile bike trail extension into Columbiana County.

Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Anthony D'Apolito ruled that the park district failed to meet the requirements for appropriating the land.

Attorneys for the landowners, including Molly Johnson, argued that the proposed asphalt trail would "disturb habitat, destroy forests, destroyed wetlands" and did not qualify as conservation of natural resources, despite the park district later characterizing the project as a "linear park."

Diane Less, one of the property owners whose family farm would have been impacted, called the November ruling "a victory in the war," expressing concerns about security and privacy if a trail cut through her land.