YOUNG, J.
Defendants own land that was partially taken in condemnation proceedings initiated by plaintiff. At issue is whether the trial court properly allowed defendants to present, in support of their proffered calculation of just compensation, evidence that their [127]*127property had been rezoned from residential to commercial after the taking.
We conclude that the evidence of the posttaking rezoning was irrelevant to the issue of the condemned property’s fair market value at the time of the taking. Because the trial court abused its discretion in admitting this evidence, and because the error was not harmless, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals, which reversed the jury’s verdict and remanded the case for further proceedings.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Defendant Haggerty Corridor Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 335 acres of an undeveloped tract of land in Novi, Michigan, which it had assembled for the future purpose of building a high-tech office park. Plaintiff, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), sought to condemn approximately fifty-one acres of this property for construction of a portion of the M-5 Haggerty Road Connector in the city of Novi. As required under MCL 213.55,1 MDOT provided defendants with a good-faith offer of $2,758,000 for the property, based on its then-applicable single-family and agricultural zoning classification.2 Defendants, believing that the property’s “highest and best use”3 was commercial rather than residential, [128]*128refused MDOT’s offer.
In December 1995, MDOT initiated an eminent domain proceeding under the Michigan Uniform Condemnation Procedures Act (UCPA)4 to condemn the property. At trial, as might be expected, the parties presented widely divergent evidence with respect to just compensation.
Consistent with its theory that the highest and best use of the property was residential, MDOT presented evidence that, at the time of the taking, the property was not likely to be rezoned to permit the commercial use proposed by defendants.5 MDOT’s appraiser testified that it was economically feasible to develop the parcel, both before and after the taking, as a residential subdivision, and that, in 1995, it was not reasonably possible that the land would be rezoned for commercial use. On the basis of an estimation that defendants’ land would support development of fifty-four residential lots, MDOT’s appraiser testified that the difference in the value of defendants’ property before and after the taking amounted to $1,415,000.
Defendants, on the other hand, sought to establish that they, along with other knowledgeable participants in the commercial real estate market, knew at the time of the December 1995 taking that the property was likely to be rezoned to allow for its planned use as an [129]*129office park.6 Defendants’ appraiser testified that the land could not have been profitably developed as residential property, and that rezoning was imminent at the time of the taking. Against this backdrop, defendants’ appraiser arrived at a just compensation figure of $18.6 million.
Consistent with their theory that the fair market value of the residential property on the date of the taking was increased because of the realistic prospect that it would soon be rezoned commercial, defendants sought to introduce evidence of the fact that the property had, in fact, been later rezoned. Defendants wished to show that in May 1998, approximately two and one-half years after the taking occurred, defendants’ property was rezoned for office/ service/technology (OST) uses. MDOT filed a motion in limine to bar this evidence, arguing that it was irrelevant to the fair market value of the property as of the date of the taking. The trial court denied MDOT’s motion. Additionally, the trial court refused to grant MDOT’s alternative request to present evidence that the rezoning took place solely as a result of the taking.7
[130]*130At MDOT’s request, the jury was taken on a bus tour of defendants’ property. The parties vigorously dispute what the jurors saw on this tour. MDOT contends that the jurors saw mainly an undeveloped tract with some commercial buildings under construction on a portion of the property. Defendants contend, on the other hand, that the jurors saw many completed office buildings on the developed portion of the property and that only a small portion of the property remained undeveloped. There is no record to support either party’s contention.
The jury was instructed that fair market value must be assessed as of the date of the condemnation, and not as of some future date. The jury was further instructed, with respect to the zoning reclassification, that
if there was a reasonable possibility, absent the threat of this condemnation case, that the zoning classification would have been changed, you should consider this possibility in arriving at the value of the property on the date of the taking.
The jury determined that just compensation was owed to defendants in the amount of $14,877,000.
On appeal to the Court of Appeals, MDOT contended that the trial court erred in denying its motion to exclude evidence of the posttaking rezoning decision and in further prohibiting MDOT from introducing evidence establishing that the zoning change was caused by the condemnation itself. The Court of Appeals majority agreed that the trial court abused its discretion in allowing the jury to consider evidence of the posttaking zoning change and that the error was not harmless:
The subject property was to be valued “as though the acquisition had not been contemplated.” MCL 213.70(1). Plaintiff attempted to introduce evidence establishing that the subject property was rezoned because of the condem[131]*131nation. If so, the actual rezoning was irrelevant. Indeed, the value of condemned property should have been determined without regard to any enhancement or reduction of the value attributable to condemnation or the threat of condemnation. State Highway Comm v L & L Concession, 31 Mich App 222, 226-227; 187 NW2d 465 (1971). Defendants were not entitled to the enhanced value that resulted from the condemnation project, only the value of the property at the time of taking. In re Urban Renewal, Elmwood Park Project, 376 Mich 311, 318; 136 NW2d 896 (1965). Although the potential for rezoning on the date of taking was properly considered, evidence of the actual zoning change was irrelevant to the value of the property on the date of taking and should not have been disclosed to the jury. Moreover, we agree with plaintiffs contention that the evidence improperly contributed to the jury’s finding that the rezoning was reasonably possible. At the very least, the improperly admitted evidence tainted the jury’s resolution of the “reasonable possibility” question of fact. Therefore, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting the evidence.
We reject defendants’ contention that the evidentiary error was harmless. Had the evidence not been admitted, it is unlikely that the jury would have been exposed to the evidence that defendants now claim renders the improperly admitted evidence harmless.[8
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
YOUNG, J.
Defendants own land that was partially taken in condemnation proceedings initiated by plaintiff. At issue is whether the trial court properly allowed defendants to present, in support of their proffered calculation of just compensation, evidence that their [127]*127property had been rezoned from residential to commercial after the taking.
We conclude that the evidence of the posttaking rezoning was irrelevant to the issue of the condemned property’s fair market value at the time of the taking. Because the trial court abused its discretion in admitting this evidence, and because the error was not harmless, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals, which reversed the jury’s verdict and remanded the case for further proceedings.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Defendant Haggerty Corridor Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 335 acres of an undeveloped tract of land in Novi, Michigan, which it had assembled for the future purpose of building a high-tech office park. Plaintiff, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), sought to condemn approximately fifty-one acres of this property for construction of a portion of the M-5 Haggerty Road Connector in the city of Novi. As required under MCL 213.55,1 MDOT provided defendants with a good-faith offer of $2,758,000 for the property, based on its then-applicable single-family and agricultural zoning classification.2 Defendants, believing that the property’s “highest and best use”3 was commercial rather than residential, [128]*128refused MDOT’s offer.
In December 1995, MDOT initiated an eminent domain proceeding under the Michigan Uniform Condemnation Procedures Act (UCPA)4 to condemn the property. At trial, as might be expected, the parties presented widely divergent evidence with respect to just compensation.
Consistent with its theory that the highest and best use of the property was residential, MDOT presented evidence that, at the time of the taking, the property was not likely to be rezoned to permit the commercial use proposed by defendants.5 MDOT’s appraiser testified that it was economically feasible to develop the parcel, both before and after the taking, as a residential subdivision, and that, in 1995, it was not reasonably possible that the land would be rezoned for commercial use. On the basis of an estimation that defendants’ land would support development of fifty-four residential lots, MDOT’s appraiser testified that the difference in the value of defendants’ property before and after the taking amounted to $1,415,000.
Defendants, on the other hand, sought to establish that they, along with other knowledgeable participants in the commercial real estate market, knew at the time of the December 1995 taking that the property was likely to be rezoned to allow for its planned use as an [129]*129office park.6 Defendants’ appraiser testified that the land could not have been profitably developed as residential property, and that rezoning was imminent at the time of the taking. Against this backdrop, defendants’ appraiser arrived at a just compensation figure of $18.6 million.
Consistent with their theory that the fair market value of the residential property on the date of the taking was increased because of the realistic prospect that it would soon be rezoned commercial, defendants sought to introduce evidence of the fact that the property had, in fact, been later rezoned. Defendants wished to show that in May 1998, approximately two and one-half years after the taking occurred, defendants’ property was rezoned for office/ service/technology (OST) uses. MDOT filed a motion in limine to bar this evidence, arguing that it was irrelevant to the fair market value of the property as of the date of the taking. The trial court denied MDOT’s motion. Additionally, the trial court refused to grant MDOT’s alternative request to present evidence that the rezoning took place solely as a result of the taking.7
[130]*130At MDOT’s request, the jury was taken on a bus tour of defendants’ property. The parties vigorously dispute what the jurors saw on this tour. MDOT contends that the jurors saw mainly an undeveloped tract with some commercial buildings under construction on a portion of the property. Defendants contend, on the other hand, that the jurors saw many completed office buildings on the developed portion of the property and that only a small portion of the property remained undeveloped. There is no record to support either party’s contention.
The jury was instructed that fair market value must be assessed as of the date of the condemnation, and not as of some future date. The jury was further instructed, with respect to the zoning reclassification, that
if there was a reasonable possibility, absent the threat of this condemnation case, that the zoning classification would have been changed, you should consider this possibility in arriving at the value of the property on the date of the taking.
The jury determined that just compensation was owed to defendants in the amount of $14,877,000.
On appeal to the Court of Appeals, MDOT contended that the trial court erred in denying its motion to exclude evidence of the posttaking rezoning decision and in further prohibiting MDOT from introducing evidence establishing that the zoning change was caused by the condemnation itself. The Court of Appeals majority agreed that the trial court abused its discretion in allowing the jury to consider evidence of the posttaking zoning change and that the error was not harmless:
The subject property was to be valued “as though the acquisition had not been contemplated.” MCL 213.70(1). Plaintiff attempted to introduce evidence establishing that the subject property was rezoned because of the condem[131]*131nation. If so, the actual rezoning was irrelevant. Indeed, the value of condemned property should have been determined without regard to any enhancement or reduction of the value attributable to condemnation or the threat of condemnation. State Highway Comm v L & L Concession, 31 Mich App 222, 226-227; 187 NW2d 465 (1971). Defendants were not entitled to the enhanced value that resulted from the condemnation project, only the value of the property at the time of taking. In re Urban Renewal, Elmwood Park Project, 376 Mich 311, 318; 136 NW2d 896 (1965). Although the potential for rezoning on the date of taking was properly considered, evidence of the actual zoning change was irrelevant to the value of the property on the date of taking and should not have been disclosed to the jury. Moreover, we agree with plaintiffs contention that the evidence improperly contributed to the jury’s finding that the rezoning was reasonably possible. At the very least, the improperly admitted evidence tainted the jury’s resolution of the “reasonable possibility” question of fact. Therefore, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting the evidence.
We reject defendants’ contention that the evidentiary error was harmless. Had the evidence not been admitted, it is unlikely that the jury would have been exposed to the evidence that defendants now claim renders the improperly admitted evidence harmless.[8] Consequently, we deem it appropriate to reverse and remand for further proceedings.[9] [Unpublished opinion per curiam of the Court of Appeals, issued July 22, 2003 (Docket Nos. 234099, 240227), slip op, p 3.]
[132]*132The dissenting judge opined that the evidence was properly admitted:
As the trial court concluded, evidence of the actual rezoning had the tendency to make the existence of the possibility of rezoning more probable than it would be without the evidence. MRE 401. More importantly, however, is the fact that there is no Michigan case on point regarding the admissibility of the subsequent fact of rezoning, and our Sister States’ case law provide [sic] divergent views. However, one respected source (also cited by the trial court) indicates that “[t]he fact that, subsequent to the taking, the zoning ordinance was actually amended to permit the previously proscribed use has been held to be weighty evidence of the existence (at the time of the taking) of the fact that there was a reasonable probability of an imminent change.” 4 Nichols, Eminent Domain (3d ed), § 12C.03[3]. Accordingly, it cannot be said that the decision to admit the evidence was an abuse of discretion when no prior case has so held, and there is respected authority that favors the ruling made by the trial court.
Moreover, even if the admission of the evidence was an abuse of discretion, it was harmless error in light of the jury instructions and other competent, admissible evidence that allowed the jury to properly conclude that rezoning was a reasonable possibility. Here, the jury was presented with sufficient evidence regarding whether there was a reasonable possibility that the subject property would be rezoned, independent of the evidence of the actual rezoning, a fact which the majority concedes. Further, the trial court properly instructed the jury on the principles of condemnation law set forth by the majority, and repeatedly stressed the principle that the jury must value the property as of the date of the condemnation, rather than at some future date .... [MURRAY, J., dissenting, slip op, pp 2-3 (citations omitted).]
The dissent further rejected MDOT’s alternative argument that the trial court erred in refusing to allow it to introduce evidence establishing that the rezoning [133]*133was directly attributable to the condemnation proceedings. Judge MURRAY noted that MCL 213.73, which allows enhancement in value of the remainder of a partially . condemned parcel to be considered in determining just compensation, was inapplicable and did not serve to permit MDOT to introduce this evidence because MDOT did not plead in its complaint that defendants’ property was enhanced because of the improvement.10 Thus, Judge MURRAY opined, the majority’s decision “effectively ignores the fact that defendants’ evidence directly relates to the ‘reasonable possibility’ that rezoning of the property would be effectuated.” Id. at 4.
This Court granted defendants’ application for leave to appeal, limited to the issues “(1) whether a posttaking zoning decision can be considered in determining value at the time of the taking, and (2) whether the Court of Appeals decision in this case is consistent with Dep’t of Transportation v [VanElslander], 460 Mich 127 [594 NW2d 841] (1999).”11 We would hold that the evidence of a posttaking rezoning is irrelevant to a just compensation determination, that the error in the admission of such evidence in this case was not harmless, and that our conclusion is wholly consistent with VanElslander, supra, and we affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals majority.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Evidentiary rulings are reviewed for an abuse of [134]*134discretion.12 However, preliminary issues of law underlying an evidentiary ruling are reviewed de novo. See People v Lukity13 (“[T]he admission of evidence frequently involve[s] preliminary questions of law, e.g., whether a rule of evidence or statute precludes admissibility of the evidence. This Court reviews questions of law de novo.”). A trial court abuses its discretion when it admits evidence that is inadmissible as a matter of law.14
III. ANALYSIS
A. INTRODUCTION
Const 1963, art 10, § 2 provides that “[p]rivate property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation therefor being first made or secured in a manner prescribed by law.” The term “just compensation” as used in our Constitution, as well as in the UCPA, is a term of art that “imports with it all the understandings those sophisticated in the law give it.”15 The concept of just compensation “ ‘includes all elements of value that inhere in the property,’ ”16 and must be determined on the basis of all factors relevant to its cash or market value.17
As we have recently had occasion to reaffirm, fair market value is to be determined as of the date of the taking. See Silver Creek, supra (“ ‘[A]ny evidence that [135]*135would tend to affect the market value of the property as of the date of the condemnation’ ” is relevant in determining just compensation.).18
In keeping with these venerated principles concerning the calculation of just compensation, the UCPA specifically provides that fair market value “shall be determined with respect to the condition of the property and the state of the market on the date of valuation."19 The UCPA prohibits, however, the consideration of any changes in market conditions that are substantially due to the general knowledge of the imminent condemnation of the property.20 Instead, with the exception of enhancement in value of the remainder of a partially taken parcel,21 “the [136]*136property shall be valued in all cases as though the acquisition had not been contemplated.”22
B. POSSIBILITY OF REZONING AS A FACTOR AFFECTING JUST COMPENSATION
A condemned parcel’s fair market value must be determined “ ‘ “based upon a consideration of all the relevant facts in a particular case.” ’ ”23 Accordingly, evidence demonstrating the likelihood of a zoning modification, just like any number of circumstances that may affect a property’s value on the open market, may be relevant in determining just compensation. However, because just compensation must be calculated on the basis of the market value of a property on the date of the taking, the relevance of any such evidence is wholly dependent on whether, and how, the particular factor at issue would have affected market participants on that date.
[137]*137Our case law is quite clear in this regard. As we noted in State Hwy Comm’r v Eilender:24
We look at the value of the condemned land at the time of the taking, not as of some future date. If the land is then zoned so as to exclude more lucrative uses, such use is ordinarily immaterial in arriving at just compensation. But, on the other hand, it has been held, “if there is a reasonable possibility that the zoning classification will be changed, this possibility should be considered in arriving at the proper value. This element, too, must be considered in terms of the extent to which the ‘possibility’ would have affected the price which a willing buyer would have offered for the property just prior to the taking.” [Emphasis supplied.]
Thus, we concluded in Eilender that a nonfrivolous, nonspeculative “reasonable possibility” of a zoning change, as evidenced by an already pending zoning modification, could properly be considered in determining just compensation.25
Similarly, we held in VanElslander, supra, that the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to allow plaintiff MDOT to present into evidence an appraisal of the condemnees’ property that was based on the possibility that a zoning variance could be obtained to cure the violations created by the condemnation. Noting that “ ‘any evidence that would tend to affect the market value of the property as of the date of condemnation is relevant,’ ”26 we held that the possibility of obtaining a variance, just like the possibility of a zoning modification, may be relevant to the just-compensation determination. We stressed, however, that such evidence was [138]*138only relevant to the extent that it aided the fact-finder in determining “ ‘ “the price which a willing buyer would have offered for the property just prior to the taking____” ’ ”27
Applying these longstanding principles as reaffirmed in Eilender, VanElslander, and Silver Creek, we would hold that the trial court here committed an error of law, and thus abused its discretion,28 when it denied MDOT’s motion to exclude evidence of the posttaking zoning modification.
We of course agree with the Court of Appeals dissent, and with our dissenting colleagues,29 that relevant evidence is “evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.”30 Where we believe the dissenters have gone astray is in misidentifying the “fact that is of consequence."
The dissenters frame this consequential fact as the existence of a “reasonable possibility” that the property would be rezoned. See post at 169. The possibility of a zoning modification must, indeed, be a “reasonable” one in order, as a matter of logic, for it to have any bearing on fair market value. However, this is only part of the equation. The “reasonable possibility” of a zoning change bears on the calculation of fair market value only to the extent that it could have affected the price that a theoretical willing buyer would have offered for [139]*139the property immediately prior to the taking.31 Thus, the “fact that is of consequence” is the reasonable possibility of a zoning modification, as that possibility might have been perceived by a market participant on condemnation day.32 ..
Any information that was available at the time of the taking may certainly be relevant in determining the price that a property might fetch on the day of the taking. For example, in this case, defendants were properly permitted to present evidence that' they had met with city officials regarding their plans for the area, and that these officials had expressed a willingness to make the required zoning changes; that the Novi Chamber of Commerce and other members of the business community supported the proposed zoning change; that Novi’s Economic Development Coordinator, Greg Capote, did not believe that the property was suitable for single-family development; that there was a dire need for zoning to accommodate high-tech office development; and that, at the time of the taking, Capote was already involved in the planning for an OST zoning classification to accommodate this type of development. All of this evidence pertains to information that might have affected the value of the property as of the date of [140]*140condemnation, December 7, 1995. Indeed, at the. time defendants acquired their Novi property, beginning in 1988, the property was more valuable in their eyes because of the looming possibility of a future zoning change.33
In contrast, a posttaking event or occurrence is utterly irrelevant to the calculation of just compensation. Market participants are, as a general rule, not omniscient, and would not be aware on the date of the taking that a posttaking event is absolutely certain to occur.34 A posttaking occurrence cannot possibly affect the fair market value of property on the day of the condemnation, because the occurrence has not yet come to pass and, thus, cannot contribute to the mass of information affecting the market value of the property on that day. In short, a posttaking zoning change is irrelevant to the just compensation calculation because it does not make the fact of consequence — that information regarding the reasonable possibility of a zoning change may have impacted the market value of property on the date of the taking — more probable or less [141]*141probable.35
The trial court’s ruling and the Court of Appeals dissenting position on the admission of posttaking evidence are informed by a common logical fallacy. As our dissenting colleague, Justice MARKMAN, argues: “That the property was, in fact, rezoned makes it ‘more probable’ that a ‘reasonable possibility’ of rezoning existed at the time of the taking. Post at 171-172. At its core, this argument supposes that the probability of a particular occurrence at a specific point in time is made stronger by after-the-fact events.36 This fallacy pre[142]*142sumes that a zoning event occurring after the date of condemnation has logical and legal relevance to the hypothetical “willing buyer’s” calculation of the price of the property on the condemnation date.
In order to understand the flaw in the probability theory and rationale of the Court of Appeals dissent and the trial court, it is important to remember the context of the just compensation valuation goal. Although condemnation results in a “forced sale,” the price the condemning agency is required to pay must approximate that price which a willing buyer would have offered for the property at the time of the taking. Consequently, because information concerning events occurring after the condemnation could not possibly have influenced the conduct of a willing buyer on the date of the taking, it can never be logically, and thus legally, relevant in determining the price that the theoretical willing buyer and seller would have agreed upon on the date of the taking.
Consider the application of this theory of probability to an event-such as the toss of a die-the probability of which is known. That a six is rolled after one predicts this outcome does not increase the strength of the prediction beyond the usual one-in-six chance of being correct. However, contrary to conventional probability theory, the proffered dissenting probability theory suggests that the predictive force of a “six” call is made stronger by the mere fact that the thrown die actually revealed a six. It is hard to understand how such a “back to the future probability theory” works any more logically when an event less predictable than the roll of a die is at issue.
[143]*143While a posttaking change in zoning may suggest that one party may have had a more astute prognostication of local zoning practices, it cannot seriously be advanced that a zoning change made after the taking could in any way have influenced a “willing buyer’s” pricing decision on the day of the taking. Only that which could legitimately influence a buyer at the time of the taking is legally and logically relevant to the amount of compensation that must be paid for a taking. Because events that occur after the taking fall outside this zone of potential influence, they cannot logically and therefore legitimately be considered in determining just compensation.
This case well illustrates the illogic of admitting evidence of postcondemnation events to influence the fact-finder’s determination of just compensation under the statute. Here, the change in zoning occurred two and one-half years after the date of the taking. It is difficult to envision how a theoretical “willing buyer” of defendants’ property would have factored into his purchase offer in 1995 a zoning decision made by Novi37 more than two years after that date.38
[144]*144As noted by the Court of Appeals dissent and by our dissenting colleague, post at 178, 4 Nichols, Eminent Domain (3d ed), § 12C.03[3], indicates that “ ‘[t]he fact that, subsequent to the taking, the zoning ordinance was actually amended to permit the previously proscribed use has been held to be weighty evidence of the existence (at the time of the taking) of the fact that there was a reasonable probability of an imminent change.’ ”39 Although it is true that some courts have, indeed, permitted the introduction of posttaking rezoning evidence, for the reasons we have expressed, we reject the reasoning employed by these courts.40 We do not, for example, agree with the New Jersey Supreme Court that evidence of a posttaking zoning change may serve to “support the reasonableness of the factual claim that on the date of taking the parties to a voluntary sale would have recognized and been influ[145]*145enced by the probability of an amendment in the near future in fixing the selling price.”41 The issue, again, is whether the perception of the existence of a market factor (such as the possibility of an imminent rezoning) would change the amount that a fictional buyer would be willing to pay on a given date. The fact that something that was only a possibility on day 1 becomes a reality on day 2 is not relevant to fair market value on day l.42
Our dissenting colleague, as evidenced by his lengthy discussion describing the “imperfect” nature of the eminent domain procedure in calculating just compensation, appropriately explains why condemnation, being a forced sale, can only approximate a real market real estate transaction. Although we are certainly not unsympathetic to the plight of the innocent landowner who is compelled to sell its property to the public, the governmental power of condemnation is one that is specifically condoned by our Constitution and regulated by the UCPA.
Justice MARKMAN’s proposal — that we allow in evidence of posttaking events in order to counterbalance the “artificial construct” of the hypothetical willing [146]*146buyer and seller — is not only inimical to the constitutional and statutory duty to determine fair market value as of the date of the taking; it is also illogical. We submit that Justice MARKMAN incorrectly assumes that the inadmissibility of evidence of posttaking occurrences leads to the invariable “detriment of the property owner” and “the benefit of the government.” Post at 182. Although the property owners in this particular case might be benefited by the introduction of such evidence, the converse would be true were the government permitted to introduce evidence of posttaking events having a diminishing effect on property value. It is not difficult to imagine a situation in which a condemning authority might seek to present, in connection with its just-compensation calculation, evidence that the condemned property was rezoned after the taking from commercial to residential, resulting in a lower market value.43
C. HARMLESS ERROR
Defendants argue that any error was harmless because MDOT requested that the jury view the property and because, during the view, the jury saw evidence that a commercial office park was being constructed on defendants’ remaining property. The Court of Appeals majority held that this evidence would likely not have been admitted had defendants not been permitted to present evidence of the posttaking rezoning. We disagree; MDOT’s motion for a jury view was granted before the trial court ruled that defendants could put on [147]*147their valuation experts. Moreover, we simply have no basis in the existing record to determine what it was that the jury actually saw, and the parties give radically divergent opinions on this point.
We nevertheless conclude that the error was not harmless. Although the jury was properly instructed that it was to determine fair market value as of the date of the taking, it was not instructed that it was to consider only the information extant at the time of the taking. Rather, the jury no doubt believed that the fair market value of the property on the date of the taking was to be calculated as if rezoning were a fact, as it was at the time of the trial.
More important, the trial court sorely compounded the error by refusing to allow MDOT to rebut the posttaking evidence by demonstrating that the rezoning was directly attributable to the condemnation itself. In this regard, we agree with our dissenting colleague that the trial court erred in precluding the admission of such evidence. See post at 167. As we have noted, the UCEA provides that just compensation is not to be determined on the basis of changes in market conditions that are substantially due to the general knowledge of the imminent condemnation of the property; rather, as MCL 213.70 provided at the time of the filing of this condemnation action, “[t]he property shall be valued in all cases as though the acquisition had not been contemplated.”44 Thus, to the extent that, defendants presented any evidence supporting a change in market value, MDOT should have been permitted to establish that such a change in value was a result of the condemnation of the property. Because MDOT was deprived of this clear statutory right, the trial court’s [148]*148initial error in admitting the posttaking rezoning evidence was inconsistent with substantial justice45 and, therefore, may not be considered harmless. We thus affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand this case for a new trial.
rv CONCLUSION
The trial court abused its discretion when it denied MDOT’s motion to exclude evidence that defendants’ property was rezoned commercial after the property was condemned. Such evidence is irrelevant to the critical just compensation inquiry, which is what a willing buyer would pay for the property on the date of the taking. Because the trial court further compounded this error by refusing to allow MDOT to establish, as contemplated by the UCPA, that the zoning change was effectuated by the fact of the condemnation itself, the error in the admission of the evidence was not harmless. We affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals and remand for further proceedings.
Taylor, C.J., and Corrigan, J., concurred with Young, J.