Eminent domain changes make residents nervous

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2003 | 8:42 a.m.

Some downtown Henderson residents said Tuesday night they are afraid that removal of 8-year-old protections against forced sales of homes in the area will encourage neighbors to neglect their properties.

Homeowners would be wary of investing in homes they could be forced to sell to the city at any time, they said.

But the City Council, during a hearing Tuesday on the use of eminent domain in the downtown redevelopment area, said the fear is due to a lack of understanding.

Councilman Jack Clark said the residents living in and maintaining their homes would have nothing to worry about if the change is approved.

"We don't want your house," Clark told the concerned residents. He said the intent would be to give the city another way to go after unkempt properties.

"We want to find a way to bring the area up," he said.

The council, acting as the city's redevelopment agency, voted 5-0 to forward the matter to the Dec. 16 council meeting for a final vote.

Robert Ryan, city redevelopment agency director, said the city has eminent domain power citywide for projects determined to be of significant public interest, such as a road widening. In designated redevelopment areas the city has a little more power and can use eminent domain to force the purchase of properties identified as important for the overall public good of the city, he said.

When the downtown redevelopment area was created in 1995, the city included a provision that protected single-family homes on land zoned for residential uses from the looser eminent domain requirements of a redevelopment area, Ryan said.

He said the city is seeking the change as they work to update the 1995 plan.

One man complained to the council that removing that protection would scare the residents of the redevelopment area.

"You would have the power to throw people out of their homes," the man said. "How would you like living in a place like that?"

Another man said having the city able to buy property at any time will make homeowners reluctant to spend to improve or maintain their property.

One woman said she's worried that if she is forced to sell to the city, she wouldn't be able to find another home on as much land as she now has.

Under eminent domain condemnation rules, the city pays fair-market value for a property, which is determined by an appraisal. Homeowners can appeal such condemnations.

"Just the words eminent domain scares me," one man said. "The fear comes from a lack of understanding."