§ 45-29-32. Evidence of value — Expediting proceedings — Increased value — Property devoted to
other public use-"Owner� defined.
In any proceedings for the assessment of compensation and damages for property taken
or to be taken by eminent domain for an authority, the following provisions are applicable:
(a) Evidence of the price and other terms, upon any sale, or the rent reserved and other
terms, upon any lease or tenancy, relating to any of the property taken or to be taken,
or to any similar property in the vicinity when the sale or leasing occurred or the
tenancy existed within a reasonable time of the trial, is admissible on direct examination.
(b) At any time during the pendency of an action or proceeding, a city or an owner may
apply to the court for an order directing an owner or the city, as the case may be,
to show cause why further proceedings should not be expedited, and the court may upon
that application make an order requiring that the hearings proceed and that any other
steps be taken with all possible expedition.
(c) For the purposes of §§ 45-29-13 — 45-29-32 the award of compensation shall not be increased by reason of any increase in the
value of the property caused by the clearance, reconstruction, or proposed clearance
or reconstruction under §§ 45-29-13 — 45-29-32 of the property or of the area in which the property is situated. No allowance shall
be made for improvements begun on property, after notice to the owner of the property,
of the institution of the proceeding to condemn the property.
(d) The facts may be proved bearing upon the unsanitary, illegal, or substandard condition
of the premises notwithstanding that no steps have been taken by the department or
offices having jurisdiction with a view to remedying or abating those conditions.
(e) If any of the property included within the project is devoted to a public use, it
may nevertheless be acquired, provided that no property belonging to the city or to
any government may be acquired without its consent, and that no property belonging
to a public utility corporation may be acquired without the approval of the division
of public utilities or other officer or tribunal having regulatory power over the
corporation.
(f) The term "owner�, as used in this section, includes a person having an estate, interest,
or easement in the property to be acquired or a lien, charge, or encumbrance on the
property.