Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OGDEN — Residents from about a half-dozen homes in the Oak Den subdivision stood together in front of Dianne Egbert's home Thursday morning, each of them showing opposition to a plan that would designate a nine-block area as a blighted zone.
"It's not just about me," homeowner Lesa Beck said. "It's about all the people that live in these homes. It's not right that someone should choose — be it the residents or the government — ... that they should leave."
Egbert, for example, points out that since she moved into the Ogden neighborhood, located northeast of the intersection of 24th Street and Monroe Blvd., she and her husband have put several major improvements into their 1900s-era home.
"If eminent domain comes into play, we won't have a choice," Egbert said. "If they want this property, they can take it."
Ogden city leaders, however, say it's not that simple.
"It's a very difficult tool to use," said Brandon Cooper, Ogden City's deputy director of community and economic eevelopment. "It's not meant to displace the community; it's meant to strengthen it."
Cooper said homeowners who have taken good care of their properties have no reason to worry. He said it wouldn't make sense to go after those homes, and it wouldn't be cost-effective. He further pointed out that the majority of nearby neighbors would have to vote before eminent domain could move forward.
"It does help in very rare circumstances," Cooper explained, saying that eminent domain could be used if the city and owners could not come to a fair agreement over a blighted property.
He said the city will soon send residents the framework of potential plans in the area to help calm their fears.
"Basically, it's a document that shows all of the opportunities that might exist in the neighborhood, in terms of investment, and it helps them understand where maybe some of those city projects might be," Cooper said.
In the meantime, the group of homeowners has now teamed up with attorneys from The Institute For Justice, which is based in Arizona, to fight the city's proposed blight designation.
"When you tell someone there's a blight study being done, and there's a vote to be taken, they go, 'Why would I buy in a neighborhood like that?'" Egbert said.
