§ 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.

History of Section. (P.L. 1935, ch. 2256, § 8; G.L. 1938, ch. 345, § 8; G.L. 1956, § 45-29-32.)