As concerns over the potential use of eminent domain have clouded a proposed CSX rail hub in Johnston County, the libertarian public-interest law firm Institute for Justice reports of a victory in January for several private property owners in Mount Airy whose land had been targeted for condemnation by a city redevelopment entity.
The Spencer’s property, an abandoned clothing factory that closed nearly a decade ago, is owned by the city. The Mount Airy Redevelopment Commission set aside the abandoned factory for redevelopment with several proposals including a small hotel, rental housing, retail stores, or a performing arts center. The project was not to include private property.
As plans for the project unfolded, however, last year Mount Airy’s interim mayor Steve Yokeley, who was on the redevelopment commission, added private businesses and homes in the plan. The redevelopment commission declared 20 properties “blighted,” and subject to condemnation if the owners did not want to sell. According to IJ, Yokeley engineered this change in the plan without the consent of other city commissioners.
Some of the affected landowners contacted IJ, which opposes the use of eminent domain to boost economic development. The law firm helped organize a grass-roots effort against the inclusion of private property in the project. During last fall’s election, Yokeley and the other commissioners backing condemnation of the private property lost, and in January the board of commissioners dissolved the redevelopment agency, took over operation of the Spencer project, and redrew the boundaries of the project, removing all the private parcels from the plan.
In a release, IJ’s Phil Applebaum said, “This fight provides a perfect example of how threatened property owners can employ grass-roots activism to quickly defeat redevelopment projects.”