People ex rel. Department of Public Works v. Miller

*469 Opinion

Defendants Carlyle Miller and D. K. Miller appeal from a judgment after trial by jury in a condemnation action which awarded them $56,500 for property taken by the State of California for state highway purposes.

The state in the eminent domain proceeding acquired two parcels of the appellants’ property described in the state’s complaint as parcels 1 and 1A. Appellants contend that the trial court erred in excluding evidence that parcel 1A had been enhanced in value when the state constructed a highway interchange with drainage facilities.

Appellants’ property consists of a 13.029-acre strip of undeveloped land lying generally west of State Highway 1 between the cities of Santa Cruz and Watsonville. The property extends generally from Rio Del Mar Boulevard on the north to the intersection of Freedom Boulevard and Highway 1, known as Rob Roy junction, to the south. The property was low-lying and marshy. Water from the area of Rob Roy junction and the surrounding hills runs through the property and drains under the highway at the Rio Del Mar intersection.

In 1962, the state entered into a freeway agreement with the County of Santa Cruz for the purpose of converting…