Kelo Update: Sand Springs, Oklahoma Church Spared (for now)
There are a few other holdouts, but the church is the one that really bears watching, especially now that it has a powerful advocacy group behind it (link within article added by me):
Church not included in condemnation effort
By MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer
5/16/2006SAND SPRINGS — The Sand Springs Development Authority voted on Monday to begin eminent domain action against 14 properties in an area targeted for economic redevelopment.
No condemnation action was scheduled, however, against the Centennial Baptist Church, 123 W. Morrow Road, which has refused a city offer for its property, insisting it will not move.
Officials said a decision on how to proceed against Centennial Baptist, located on the edge of the target area, will be made at a later date.
Last week, the state Supreme Court ruled that governments can’t use eminent domain to seize private property and grant easements to a private company in the name of economic development.
That case involved an attempt by Muskogee County to seize land for Energetix, a producer of electricity, which wanted to build a plant and run easements for water lines.
The high court ruling, though, left open the possibility that eminent domain can be used against blighted properties.
In a prepared press release, Sand Springs City Manager Loy Calhoun noted that “Since the Keystone Corridor project was conceived, its principle goal has been to eliminate blighted conditions.”
“Our goals are like comparing apples to oranges in regards to the Muskogee County case,” Calhoun said.
In the meantime, The Becket Fund of Washington, D.C., has taken up Centennial Baptist’s cause and promised a vigorous challenge in federal court if the city moves ahead with condemnation.
The city has said it would use eminent domain against the church only as a last resort.
Two other churches in the Keystone Corridor project area already have accepted city offers to move, an official said.
The Keystone Corridor project is a multimillion-dollar effort largely funded by the voter-approved Vision 2025 program to clear out what city officials said is a blighted area and prepare it for new development, possibly commercial.
The troublesome thing about all of this is that, despite the previous claims of some in the city and elsewhere, eminent domain remains an option that is on the table for dealing with the church.
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