Decision on eminent domain in Charlestown, Ind. put off until the fall
“Some Charlestown residents could still lose their homes to eminent domain, but any decision has been put off until the fall.Charlestown Mayor Bob Hall believes the area called Pleasant Ridge is blighted.
Some buildings in the area date back to World War II and the sudden building boom associated with the startup of the then-Charlestown Army Ammunition Plant.. Some buildings have been kept up, others have not.
“We’ve had developers who’ve said they’d love to do the project, and they would be more than fair with homeowners and all that, but all we have at this point is their word,” Hall said.
Hall told the city council Monday night that Charlestown has asked the state of Indiana for what’s called “blight elimination” money.
If the state approves, the money would help the city buy the homes and tear them down for new development.
“We asked them if there would be a second round, and they said yes, it would be in the November, December range,” Hall explained.
That’s a deadline about four months longer that what Hall told residents last month. He said the city submitted an application of 17,000 pages in 12 boxes in mid-June.
Opposing residents have enlisted the help — for free — of a property rights law firm from Arlington, Virginia.
“It seems Indiana wants to get around eminent domain laws,” said Melinda Haring, activism manager for Institute for Justice.”
WDBR.com 7 July 2014.