The Langley City Council will discuss an ordinance tonight that would give the mayor the authority to condemn a stretch of fairgrounds property that’s needed for a new street.

The ordinance outlines the details of the condemnation process, and it will be discussed during the regular city council meeting at 6:30 p.m. at city hall.

It is the latest step by the city to get construction moving on a connector road that will serve the soon-to-be-constructed Highlands development. The 53-home subdivision is the largest housing project in city history, and city officials say the new road is needed to help lessen traffic impacts from the Highlands and other development in the area.

The ordinance gives the mayor and Langley’s city attorney the power to move forward on a lawsuit, or reach a settlement or agreement, to get the fairgrounds property that is needed for the new road.

The ordinance also outlines the necessary steps that must be taken. And it states how the city intends to pay for the property, as well.

The city will fund the entire cost of the deal through a newly created account in the city’s budget called the Fairgrounds Road project fund. If necessary, the ordinance would also give city staff the authority to spend money from the city’s general fund to pay for the project. The general fund is typically used to pay for police, public works and other essential government services.

Tonight is the “first reading” of the ordinance. Another reading and a final vote will be required after that to officially pass the ordinance.

A powder keg of controversy ignited two months ago when the city announced it would take steps to condemn a portion of the fairgrounds for public use. The move came after negotiations between the city and the fair association board over an easement across the property came to a halt.

The city has since hired an appraiser to see how much the land is worth that will be needed for the new road.

Once the appraisal is completed, the city plans to make an offer to the county to purchase the roughly 19,000 square feet of property that is needed for the road.

If the offer is declined, the city will take legal steps to get the land. That’s likely to happen, because county commissioners have repeatedly said they won’t approve a sale without the consent of the fair board.

Neither the fair board nor county commissioners have yet received official papers informing them of the city’s next legal steps.

City officials said they were waiting for the outcome of the appraisal before sending condemnation documents to the county.

Langley hired an appraiser to determine the value of the property and he went to work in late July.

City administrator Walt Blackford said last week that the city intends to deliver papers to the county within “a week or two.”

Gaining access to the strip of fairgrounds land needed for the new road has not gone as swiftly as the city had hoped.

Blackford had told the city council on July 5 that the issue could be resolved “within the next 30 days.”

Two months later, however, work on the road has not started and the county or the fair board still has not received official paperwork.

Dan Ollis, chairman of the Island County Fair Association Board said now that the fair is over the board is ready to pick up the issue and hopefully find a solution.

He expects the issue to be talked about during the next regular meeting of the fair board on Monday, Sept. 11.

Blackford also said that the city still hopes for an out-of-court solution.

“It’s fair to say that the mayor still hopes that this can be resolved without condemning the property,” Blackford said.

Called Fairgrounds Road, the connector road would stretch approximately one-quarter mile between Al Anderson and Langley roads, and it is expected to relieve traffic on Al Anderson Road once the Highlands development is built.

About 400 feet of the road would cross the fairgrounds property. The road would be 18 to 22 feet wide, and the city had asked for 60-foot-wide easement across the fairgrounds.

Opponents of the new road say it would cut off the tent campground area from the rest of the fairgrounds and make it almost unusable.

Michaela Marx Wheatley can be reached at 221-5300 or mmarxwheatley@southwhidbeyrecord.com.