Local Government Stealing Your Homes

"Eminent Domain is Un-American"

by Johnathan W. Smith

Mishawaka is not practicing a free society government. Several years ago, they did a mass home purchase for the Hummer plant. I’m sure that brought billions of dollars into our community, and surely had many other effects. They can tout the added benefits to our community—but at what cost? Time has passed, and many of the people who lost their homes have likely gotten over it. They’ve moved on and live other places now. The stress they went through—especially some of the older, retired people who were set in their ways—may have cost some of them years of life. Imagine the social factor of children having to leave their schools and friends. I can even imagine some people divorced over the stress. And the Hummer plant was almost sold to China in the last few months?

The city of Mishawaka is currently telling us they are going to "potentially" take our home as part of the River Walk in three to five years. It’s going to happen, says Ken Prince (Mishawaka City Planner). At the Edgewater Drive meeting in the fall of ‘08, Mayor Jeff Rea stated he was going to take responsibility for taking the encroachment right to put a sidewalk through river property-owner’s land, even over their combined objections. If you live from Merrifield Park to Central Park (both sides), you’re on notice: beware.

We (my wife and I) thought we were going to be in our home into old age. They made us an offer 74% less than the absolute minimum it would cost for us to pay off our house-related debt and be able to relocate. We are remodelers by trade and were constantly doing professional-grade improvements to our home. EIFS stucco siding, a two-car garage and deck to the river were planned. We even had plans for a pedal boat rental or kayak sales business. The neighbors were aware we wanted to acquire their properties as well. We know they’re not going to pay us for our dreams, but we expect them to pay us for what we’ve put into it.

We made a counter-offer which was less than half of what we expected we could get some day—a very fair deal—just to get things over with (our mortgage plus $5k). We don’t want to pay taxes and interest on a house we’re going to lose. We’ve given up working on finishing our 1913 home, because why should we work on something that’s going to be torn down? We rarely landscape; we just don’t care. It’s caused a tremendous amount of stress on our marriage and has caused many sleepless nights. We don’t know when they’ll take our house, or where we’ll live next. We will figure out how to make this work. We know that we’re going to lose our home... that we pay for! We are constantly on red alert They have already taken our home in our spirits and our minds. They have violated the sacredness of our home and hearth, and they are being allowed to continue this for the next three to five years, tentatively. It will never stop as long as we are in this home. It’s a daily emotional strugle. We’ve listed it on craigslist.com. Only a lawyer would want it. We want away from this government. Enjoy your legacy, Jeff Rea.

Sure, they’re allowing us to use our court system years from now, but because of the Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain (July 2005, Kelo v. City of New London, CT), they’ve made us believe they will get away with taking our property. And by that time we will get what we asked for, plus at least 50% more, towards our true value of this property. As taxpayers, when do you want to buy our house? Now, or in the future, when it will cost you more? We don’t understand the relocation committee’s decision; it makes no sense from a business perspective. It’s as though they want to make us suffer. They could’ve bought it when we did, when the ceilings were caved in, and we had a waterfall in the kitchen every time it rained. Most everyone gave up on it. Jeff Rea said they were looking at it then. We bought it! It’s my wife’s Taj Mahal. A humble one but none the less. We rebuilt it.

The city shouldn’t have the right to do anything they think is going to benefit the community as a whole. Sure, our River Walk is beautiful, and is going to be grand once it goes through where our living room is and through untold numbers of homeowner’s back yards. But where do we stop? We think the Union Street hill would make a great ski slope and would draw millions of dollars to our community. Should we threaten everyone there with the possibility of losing their homes to a ski slope because it would be good for the community? What if we put it right through Blair Hills, where Ken Prince’s home is? It’s scenic and off the beaten path. How about it, Ken Prince? What if, in four years, we come and take your property for a ski slope? Think of the hotels and restaurants that it would support, all of the employment that could be created. Your neighbors could have bed-and-breakfasts. Their property values will skyrocket. Or take your property and give it away for a dollar so that a developer will build multi-million dollar homes and condos you can’t afford. Growth for the sake of growth, is the philosophy of cancer.

Everyone should feel comfortable that they are going to remain in their homes until their dying days. We should never be uneasy or unsure of where our home is in the United States of America. Everyone is at risk. Everyone.

Our cities need to be able to plan and project, but there needs to be a willing consensus between the parties. If there is one holdout amongst a hundred, rather than destroying that person’s environment, the other ninety-nine should have to provide that one can still maintain his island in the midst of their ocean. The one should never feel threatened and should always feel protected. That’s equal freedom.

It is so sad that we have politicians and officials running our free government with Communistic rules. This is our land, and the bank’s. We should not have city government that believes in these rules. It’s un-American. Where is your patriotic conviction, Jeff Rea and Ken Prince? Be Americans in spirit, not just in title.