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Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: Threat to Westville property endangers dreams Threat to Westville property endangers dreams JOHN ZIOMEK/Courier-Post Jeffrey Baker and Kelly George look at Baker's father's property along Big Timber Creek that could be taken away for development. JOHN ZIOMEK/Courier-Post A redevelopment proposal threatens properties along Big Timber Creek in Westville, although borough officials say they will use eminent domain as a last resort. JOHN ZIOMEK Courier-Post Delsea Drive is one of the busiest roadways in Westville. JOHN ZIOMEK/Courier-Post Westville residents have formed a group to save property, like these homes along Big Timber Creek, threatened by a redevelopment proposal. JOHN ZIOMEK/Courier-Post Westville's mayor says a property owner's history in a community should be considered when eminent domain is a possibility. MARCIN SZCZEPANSKI/Courier-Post Grabbe's Seafood Restaurant has been serving hungry diners in Westville since 1933. ADVERTISEMENT Advertise with us! Related news from the Web Latest headlines by topic: • Life • Food • US News • Seafood • US Supreme Court Powered by http://Topix.net Sunday, October 30, 2005 By WILFORD S. SHAMLIN Courier-Post Staff WESTVILLE It's a weekday night and Grabbe's Seafood Restaurant is serving up crabs, clams, crawfish, lobster and shrimp, as it has since 1933. The windows are aglow with colorful neon lights and the glossy wood-panel walls are accented with a mermaid, Viking and copper replicas of crabs and lobsters. Housed in a plain brick building on one of the borough's busiest thoroughfares, this popular Delsea Drive site is a meeting place for area residents. However, a proposed $40 million redevelopment project that threatens the future of the family-owned and -operated restaurant has thrust the business to the forefront of a heated debate over the use of eminent domain. "I want them to see their own home in that picture," said co-owner Dolores Achilles, 64, as she fought back her tears. "I want them to understand what it does to our spirit. The emotional end is just unreal. No one should have to go through what we're going through right now." She and her husband, Louis Achilles, 63, had hoped to retire eventually and turn over the business to their two sons, Al, 26, and Henry, 23. But they now fear their dreams could be stolen by eminent domain. Even before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that local governments can seize property for the sole purpose of economic development, the use of eminent domain was a divisive issue. Fieldstone Associates of Doylestown, Pa., has drafted a conceptual plan for the Westville redevelopment zone that includes a restaurant, a four-story building with 114 to 134 condominiums, 78 townhouses with outdoor balconies and 5,000 to 15,000 square feet of commercial space. Borough officials have said repeatedly that they would use powers of eminent domain only as a last resort. That is little comfort for area residents fearful that they could lose their home or businesses. The redevelopment plan still needs approval from the borough council and land use board, but that hasn't slowed the pace of debate over the proposal. At Grabbe's, decals and posters denouncing eminent domain hang on the restaurant doors and in the windows, speaking for the family and many other borough residents who side with them. "This place is like Cheers," said Suzanne McInnis, 46, of Westville. "When you come in, they know you by your name. You can't find that anymore." "The kids are here all the time," said Diana McKinney, 43, who moved to Westville from Philadelphia five years ago. "It's a bar, but it's a family place." More than a dozen Grabbe's customers interviewed recently -- even out-of-towners -- were critical of eminent domain, saying that condemnation powers should only be used for projects for the public good -- such as a highway, school or airport -- if at all. "You would think this is the land of opportunity, but it doesn't seem that way if somebody can try and take your property away," McKinney said. In January, a group of borough residents opposed to eminent domain formed We The People, a grass-roots group that prides itself on being nonpartisan. Although it has about 35 core members, dozens of others have helped their cause by preparing and distributing fliers opposing the planned redevelopment. We The People, which takes its name from the preamble of the U.S. Constitution, also has injected itself into borough politics. It has endorsed a bipartisan slate of four council candidates who have pledged not to use eminent domain to accomplish redevelopment for private profit. The group's stance indicates a loss of trust in government officials who have refused to bow to residents' demands -- bolstered by a petition with more than 600 signatures -- to stop moving forward with redevelopment plans, said Sue Belski, a borough resident and group member. The Achilles family, who have joined We The People, is talking about the threat to their restaurant to the news media and encouraging customers and anyone who will listen to educate themselves about eminent domain. In addition to their restaurant, the Achilles run New Jersey Shellfish Co., which sells seafood to walk-in customers and distributes orders placed over the Internet. And they are wholesale distributors to area restaurants, caterers and retail stores. "I know Grabbe's is a viable business and a stabilizing force in Westville," Dolores Achilles said. "I don't understand why they're doing this. We need people to stand with us and yell at these people that they can't do this." Mayor William Packer said no decision has been made about the redevelopment or Grabbe's, which is in the redevelopment zone, but that its history in the community should be considered. "I can't speak for the council," he said. "I would certainly, at least, look at that. We're aware that they've been in town for a number of years. We're aware of the sensitivity of it." The mayor added that he and council members are not currently involved in negotiating with property owners nor will they be. The Achilles are not alone in waging a political fight against the use of eminent domain. Neighborhood groups and residents throughout New Jersey and across the country are resisting eminent domain politically and legally, said Damon Smith, assistant professor at Rutgers University School of Law-Camden. The political method involves organizing opposition to officials when they're up for re-election, notifying the media, staging protests, and "using various methods to draw attention to the situation so that they can build public support to oppose the decision that has been made," Smith said. It's all an effort at pressuring Westville officials to change their minds about moving forward with redevelopment plans. A second, more complex and costlier strategy is the legal route. "People have brought lawsuits alleging that the designation for their particular area is not allowed under the statute that gives a municipality the power to designate a redevelopment zone," Smith said. "The courts typically take a deferential view to public policy-makers' determination toward land-use decisions. It's not impossible to overturn. It has been done. It's just difficult. "The burden is on the plaintiff to really show that somehow there's no rational basis for the decision, and it's arbitrary and capricious," Smith said. Borough officials are taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the planned redevelopment. They want to see final design plans as well as impact data on a number of key issues before making a decision, but many residents believe that elected officials already have made up their minds to approve the redevelopment. But developers aren't wasting any time. Some homeowners in Westville have been offered as low as $50,000 for waterfront property, an amount that they found insulting, Belski said. "Most people are being offered so little for their homes and businesses that it is unlikely that they will be able to buy another property in Westville," according to a flier that We The People distributed to residents. Homes range from $75,000 for a bungalow in need of repair to $425,000 for a two-story home with extensive improvements, according to a local Realtor. Even if the borough doesn't decide to use powers of eminent domain, some residents don't see why the borough couldn't find an alternative plan. George Baker, 48, of Westville, suggested that the borough offer a tax-abatement program as an incentive for homeowners to make property improvements as an alternative to redevelopment. "It doesn't cost the municipality anything and . . . it's a proven method," he said. His wife, Maureen Baker, pointed out that developers in Georgia have been successful at building new communities by paying more than fair-market value for homes in a specific area rather than "insulting people" with low-ball offers.
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#1. To: Red Jones (#0)
I feel so sorry for these people. Private property? It doesn't exist. This is communism.
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