United Liberty

If you follow eminent domain cases at all, you are likely to recognize the name Suzette Kelo.  She sued the City of New London, Connecticut for their misuse of the power of eminent domain, as they condemned her property and the property of her neighbors to allow Pfizer to build a research facility.  The case made it all the way to the Supreme Court and resulted in a gross violation of property rights nationwide, as the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, found that the positive impact of the facility in terms of jobs and tax revenues would benefit the community of New London qualified as “public use” as outlined by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  Last month, four years after the decision, Pfizer pulled out of the project, leaving New London with an empty lot generating next to no tax revenue after displacing Ms. Kelo and her neighbors.

Almost concurrently, an eminent domain battle was raging in Stockbridge, Georgia, a small suburb south of Atlanta.  After reaching a deal with a major drug store chain for their property, Mark and Regina Meeks, owners of the Stockbridge Florist and Gifts, were approached with a deal to sell the land their shop stood upon to the city of Stockbridge.  You can find the entire Stockbridge Florist story in Mark Meeks’ own words on their new website recently launched as they embark on saving the family business and building the Private Property Project, a non-profit clearinghouse for information and resources aimed at protecting property owners.  The Private Property Project will focus on helping to stop the government’s abuse of their eminent domain power.  To give you a taste of what the Meeks experienced:

Unwilling to pay us anything near a fair-market value, and nowhere close to the private developer’s offer, the city quietly rezoned our property, making it impossible for the developer to proceed with redevelopment plans.  The land we’d worked so hard for was being devalued before our eyes, by our own elected officials.  And once the land was deemed so worthless, city leaders began the process of eminent domain.  In short, they sought to take the earth from beneath us… all in the name of the “public good.”  The City of Stockbridge sought to take our private property (which they’d made worth substantially less), mark up the price and re-sell it to a private developer.  To do it, the City of Stockbridge then altered their plans, moving a new city hall much closer to our property - something observers and some state officials believed was necessary as a reason to take our land.

[…]After negotiations with the city failed, elected officials began the process of condemning our land.  Our flower shop was labeled a slum during city council meetings and our business was on the verge of failing.  We found real trouble.  We saw it as stealing.  The Court overturned the condemnation.

After a lengthy court battle, we won.  Or did we?  We saved our flower shop from condemnation, but it came at a price.  More than $300,000 in legal fees and expenses.  More than our share of pain.  And more signals the city hasn’t yet finished its work.

No matter your political persuasion, it is obvious that the city is willing to stop at nothing to punish the Meeks for refusing to bow to their whim.  The Meeks find themselves mortgaged to the hilt, accruing a substantial debt as they fought to keep their property, as the city proceeded to build a $35 million City Hall complex AROUND the flower shop, even constructing a hideous brick wall on the property line to separate the palatial new building from the Stockbridge Florist and Gifts shop.

This is where we come in.  In an effort to right their financial ship, secure their future, and begin the Private Property Project, the Meeks are asking for your help.  They are selling small, titled portions of their property in a “Private Property Memorial Garden,” where “tenant-in-common owners” will have free and unlimited access to the garden at any time.  The plan is to include as many tenant-in-common owners as possible to cause any condemnation, and subsequent seizure of the property, to be financially impossible.  The more owners involved, the more it will cost the city or any government agency to serve all the tenants-in-common should they choose to pursue another condemnation attempt on the property.  It is estimated that if .5% of Georgia’s landowners participate, estimates of serving those owners land about the $1 million mark.

Since I do not believe in asking others to do something that I am unwilling to do, I visited the shop in person yesterday to talk with Mark and Regina, as well as to become one of the owners of the Private Property Memorial Garden, along with two members of my family.  Please join us, as we move beyond winning this costly battle and one step closer to winning the war waged on our private property.  You can become a part no matter where you live, and if you find yourself in the Atlanta area, I am happy to meet you in our garden to toast private property.