Property owner not pleased with Eagle’s plan to use eminent domain
“An old lot on the corner of Eagle and State Street has become the center of a turf war.
The property, a former gas station, has been an eyesore for the area for more than a decade after the business closed down. Now, the owner has put up a big sign to let everyone know the city is trying to take her property.
In a public hearing Tuesday night, the city of Eagle’s urban renewal agency heard testimony from community members about its plan to use eminent domain to condemn the corner lot on Eagle and State and turn it into a parking lot.
Many who spoke, said the lot is a blight on Eagle’s otherwise well-maintained downtown.
The urban renewal agency is made up of city council members and other business leaders in town, whose goal is to make decisions and push projects that will help grow Eagle.
The agency offered to buy the property from its owner, Sandy Smith, for $360,000 but she says that’s not enough for a corner lot in the middle of downtown.
“Everybody says you’ve got a gold mine here, well the price we got isn’t gold mine price,” Smith said.
The property owner says the agency has told her to clean up the area. She says she’s painted the old gas station building, put in new windows, graded the lot and removed jersey barriers from the area.”
KBOI 5 March 2015.