Whose domain are we discussing?

Posted on by Lisa Sarasohn

The city of Asheville and Buncombe County are no strangers to the use of eminent domain. As you reported [“A House Divided: Community at Odds over Downtown Master Plan,” Aug. 6], the city’s African-American community is well aware that “[ i ]n the 1970s, hundreds of buildings around the Southside Avenue and Valley Street (now South Charlotte Street) areas were seized via eminent domain and demolished.”

Using eminent domain then to claim private property wasn’t too expensive or legally entangled. There’s no excuse for our municipal officials not to use eminent domain now to reclaim the public parkland sold in error to private developer Stewart Coleman for his Parkside condominium project. Or is the difference a matter of race and class?

— Lisa Sarasohn
Asheville

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One thought on “Whose domain are we discussing?”

  1. Jefferson Ideal

    I am all for Eminent Domain being used in this instance. But there is pushback from the developer shills on the BC Commission. Carol “no single-wide trailers ever” Peterson and Bill Stanley are fighting E.D. from being used. I guess they are trying to salvage their reps to some degree. I am voting against them in November, as I expect most people will.

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