RE: Company wants to buy property for halfway house
Let me see if I have this right.
The geniuses on the Winston-Salem City Council are considering the use of eminent domain to secure property for some pipe dream about urban renewal in one of the worst areas of the city. And they feel forced to use this power to chase off a potential buyer who will turn a "blighted" property into something nominally useful.
Do I have that about right?
There is a reason the property is blighted. A friend of mine on the Winston-Salem PD tells me a good-sized portion of the crack cocaine traveling North passes through the area around 14th and Patterson (about two blocks away). The area is widely known for drugs, prostitution, and violence. Other contacts on the state-wide gangs task force and on the Winston-Salem PD tell me that area is being infiltrated by Latino gangs and is quickly becoming a war zone. The graffiti that can be seen from US 52 passing near the area should be sufficient testimony to the truth of that.
What makes these pinheads think that developers are going to jump at the chance to build shops and restaurants in an area like that? The actual outcome of their decision, should they choose to go with eminent domain, will be to saddle the city with more property it can't do anything with and to scare off other potential developers. They are even further shooting themselves in the foot because their hair-trigger use of eminent domain will probably have a chilling effect on any developers they hope to attract to their pipe-dream project.
To quote a much-overused phrase, these folks definitely seem to be stuck on stupid.
The geniuses on the Winston-Salem City Council are considering the use of eminent domain to secure property for some pipe dream about urban renewal in one of the worst areas of the city. And they feel forced to use this power to chase off a potential buyer who will turn a "blighted" property into something nominally useful.
Do I have that about right?
There is a reason the property is blighted. A friend of mine on the Winston-Salem PD tells me a good-sized portion of the crack cocaine traveling North passes through the area around 14th and Patterson (about two blocks away). The area is widely known for drugs, prostitution, and violence. Other contacts on the state-wide gangs task force and on the Winston-Salem PD tell me that area is being infiltrated by Latino gangs and is quickly becoming a war zone. The graffiti that can be seen from US 52 passing near the area should be sufficient testimony to the truth of that.
What makes these pinheads think that developers are going to jump at the chance to build shops and restaurants in an area like that? The actual outcome of their decision, should they choose to go with eminent domain, will be to saddle the city with more property it can't do anything with and to scare off other potential developers. They are even further shooting themselves in the foot because their hair-trigger use of eminent domain will probably have a chilling effect on any developers they hope to attract to their pipe-dream project.
To quote a much-overused phrase, these folks definitely seem to be stuck on stupid.
posted by Anonymous | 2:55 PM
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