You might remember my property in Gilbert that had the graffiti art wall (pictured above) off Lindsay Road and Pecos. I bought that home in Gilbert, Arizona in late 2012 on a secluded county island location. I gutted the entire property so I could make it fully wheelchair accessible for myself because I am a quadriplegic and full-time wheelchair user. I spent $150,000 to modify the home.

Fast-forward to 2019, only 6 years after I renovated the property, the town of Gilbert came to me seeking to buy some of my property surrounding the North and West border in order to expand Lindsey Road and Lexington Street as they were anticipating a freeway exit being put in off of Lindsay Road. The new freeway exit was going to increase traffic drastically and the new boundaries of Lexington Street placed the street merely feet from my front door. It was evident I was not going to be able to peacefully stay in my property. 

The town realized if I kept my home, they were going to need to put in an expensive access road, so they asked me if I would be willing to tear down with very little short notice (3 weeks). I had expressed to representatives of the town I was interested in rezoning to commercial so that I could recuperate the loss of my home. They expressed I would be able to do so without issue. They even gave me stub ups for commercial. I did everything to negotiate to keep every square foot of my land, because I knew I was going to need it to sell the property. I tore down my home with their construction company and I paid $40,000. 

I was negotiating a deal with Chevron to buy the property and that fell through, then I had another offer that was going to go through but with the volatility of the market it didn’t. At that point I decided to re-zone it myself, that was May 2022. I hired an attorney who was well recommended and he began the process. At the beginning of 2023 I was notified that the town of Gilbert was going to require me to donate 18% of my land in order to make Lexington a four-lane street. I spent $3600 on a traffic report they required that showed there was absolutely no need for it, which they completely ignored. 

I spent thousands of dollars on plans that are required for submittal only to find out none of them will work because they knew they were going to require that land the whole time. Here is the kicker, the report they are using to base this on was from a year before they bought land from me! A YEAR BEFORE! Therefore, they always knew they were going to need this and always knew they were going to do a land grab. 

I can totally understand why someone wouldn’t care about my property fight with Gilbert. I understand it’s my fight. What I DO think people should have an issue with is the fact that Gilbert spent hundreds of thousands of $$$$ to put in a new road 4 years ago, when they already knew they were going to be redoing the entire thing. It is a huge waste of tax dollars, and the only reason they did that is so they wouldn’t have to pay me for my land. They knew before they bought land surrounding me they were going to request a Right-of-Way (donation of land). It would have cost them less just to pay me for my land 4 years ago than it is going to cost to completely redo the road and surrounding infrastructure. 

They are claiming I am a developer. They are claiming because I am rezoning my property I am now technically a developer. The property I was forced out of. The property I wanted to keep. The property I put so much love and energy into. They just want to take it for free. They do not want to give me any compensation. I am an individual. I am a disabled female. I have ridiculous medical costs and I pay $70,000 a year out of pocket for caregiving. Inflation impacts my caregiving ridiculously and this has been financially draining and emotionally devastating. 

I’m sure you’re thinking it can’t get any worse. Well they built a town road on land I still own. I was not aware until the county recorder was updated last year. I was under the assumption that they paid me for everything, when in reality, they didn’t pay me for 12,000 ft.² of land which would’ve mounted to approximately $80,000. Instead they just built the road on it and I have been paying taxes on it. They have agreed to give me fair market value. 

At this point, I recognize the court of public opinion is the only thing that will get them to change. 

Additional facts/issues: 

• The property line on the northside is not straight because the town of Gilbert did not want to pay me for a very expensive electric gate. I was trying to keep as much property as possible so I kept the land. The same land they are trying to take for free.
• Lexington Street was merely feet from my front door
• They had a construction easement on my property
• The town required me to get a traffic report from a professional. It stated this was not necessary, they ignored it, stating “they cannot live with the road, not being straight.”
• They are taking 18% of my land without compensation
• This process normally takes 3-4 months

Solution? I am seeking that Gilbert, Az offer me easements and fair market value for the land they are wanting to take. 

If you live in the Gilbert, Arizona area and you would like to support this issue, please show up to the Gilbert Town Council meeting on January 23, 2024 at 6:30 PM. 
50 East Civic Center Drive
Gilbert, Arizona 85296