THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, April 18, 1996               TAG: 9604180359
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: MANTEO                             LENGTH: Medium:   55 lines

DARE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD: WITNESSES TESTIFY THAT DISPUTED LAND CAN'T HOLD 6 HOMES ON TRIAL: HOW MUCH SHOULD THE BOARD PAY THE LAND'S OWNER?

A string of expert witnesses for the Dare County Board of Education testified Wednesday that six sound-front lots on Hatteras Island would not be able to accommodate six four-bedroom homes.

The lots are at the heart of a lawsuit between two Maryland families who own the lots, and the school board. The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld rulings that allowed the school system to take the six lots through eminent domain. Now a Dare County jury must decide how much the board must pay Elpis Sakaria and Jack and Lillian Hillman for the land.

Attorneys for the families closed their case Wednesday with the testimony of two appraisers, who said the lots are each worth at least $83,000. The school board contends the lots are worth considerably less.

Norton Byrd, a local appraiser,valued the lots at from $83,570 to $151,494.

A second appraiser, Bob Barker, said five of the lots were worth $87,500 each, and a sixth at least $100,000.

But as school board attorneys began their case, they sought to chip away at property owners' contention that the land was suitable for residential dwellings.

John DeLucia, a civil engineer, testified that two of the lots would be unable to support a septic system, and that the four remaining lots could support dwellings with a total of 13 bedrooms, because of nearby wetlands and the amount of space available. In Tuesday's testimony, a proposal by the property owners included six houses with four bedrooms each.

An official with North Carolina's Division of Coastal Management testified that the proposed development was not consistent with Dare County's Land Use Plan.

However, under cross examination by property owners' counsel Norm Shearin, Preston Pate said that changes in the proposal could bring the development into compliance.

In the final testimony of the day, wetlands specialist George Wood said that the property owners' building proposal would not comply with federal wetlands guidelines.

However, under cross examination by Shearin, Wood acknowledged that wetlands studies had been done for the school board on the 5.3-acre Sakaria Hillman site in 1985, some eight years before the district took the land through eminent domain.

Testimony in the trial, which started Monday, is expected to conclude today.

KEYWORDS: TRIAL by CNB