AJC > NorthSide > Blog > Archives > 2007 > June > 11 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USShould the Fulton County School Board use eminent domain?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An article in Saturday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the Fulton County School Board planned to use its power of eminent domain to buy three businesses along Cliftwood Drive, making more room for the new Sandy Springs elementary school, scheduled to open in August 2008.
But the three longtime business owners plan to fight the purchase — they’ve even hired former Georgia Attorney General Michael Bowers to plead their case before the school board.
The owners claim they had been given assurances that their properties were not needed for the new school. Mitzi Woody, spokeswoman for Fulton County Public Schools, said board members have since been convinced that, for safety reasons, they need the extra land for more parking and more entrances and exits.
Do you think the school board’s use of eminent domain justified? And if you live in the area, will these three properties really make a difference in the school’s design?
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Sandy Springs
Comments
By Jones
June 11, 2007 12:58 PM | Link to this
ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! No one should be forced from their home, just because a developer wants to make a ton of money. It’s called stealing from the poor to make the richer richer.
That’s reason number 1 why I don’t shop at Walmart.
By BB
June 21, 2007 3:10 PM | Link to this
No eminent domain should not be used in this situation. They should adapt their plans around the properties. The city should not take their property. These businesses recently went through renovations that the city should have informed them at that time of the possibility of this location being used as a back-up planned area for the school. Now the plans should be adapted instead of wasting money on a long court battle.