Eminent Domain Public Notice Sign placed on Briarwood Rd. in Brookhaven. Photo: Trey Benton
Brookhaven, GA, June 28, 2017 – by Anna Williams for The Post – The Peachtree Creek Greenway (PCG) group said on Tuesday they are supporting the City of Brookhaven’s decision to utilize Eminent Domain to secure a 19-acre parcel located at 1793 Briarwood Rd., that will eventually become a trailhead for the proposed 12-mile multi-purpose linear park planned along the North Fork of Peachtree Creek. Three of those 12-miles are in Brookhaven.
According to Brookhaven leaders, negotiations with the land owner of the 19-acre tract have reached a stalemate. The City says they have been trying to settle on a fair price for the land for more than a year and it’s just not happening. So, with their mind set on owning this property, Brookhaven is forging ahead with using eminent domain – asking a Judge to decide the fair market price the City will pay the owner when they take ownership.
By law, the City of Brookhaven will be required to compensate the current owners for a fair market value for the property. The City says more than 83% of this tract is located in a floodplain and unbuildable.
“The land has been on the market since its purchase many years ago,” the PCG group said Tuesday. “According to local reporting sources, the property appears to be listed as much as 5 times more than its appraised value. The land has had pieces broken off and sold, and what remains is virtually unbuildable due to Georgia Power easements, DeKalb County sewer easements, and the flood plain.”
19 Acres located near 1793 Briarwood Rd. – Subject of an Eminent Domain action by the City of Brookhaven. Image: COB
According to the PCG group, the Greenway is part of a regional transportation plan that has been in the works since the 1990’s. Three of the proposed 12 mile path are in the City of Brookhaven. In Brookhaven the Greenway runs along a creek, but also runs parallel to MARTA’s busiest bus route in Atlanta — Buford Highway — and one of the busiest car routes in the southeast — I-85.
PCG says unlike a typical neighborhood park, the Greenway’s length and location will ensure that cyclists and pedestrians can and will use it instead of a car. In addition to being an alternative transportation corridor, the Peachtree Creek Greenway group says the multi-use patch will save trees, clean up the waterway, improve public health, and provide recreation for people from all walks of life including walkers, joggers, dog owners, and families, accessible to wheelchairs and strollers alike.
Brookhaven’s City Council unanimously approved in March, a not to exceed $325,276 contract with the PATH Foundation to provide design work for the Peachtree Creek Greenway. According to the City, the contract total “represents a steep discount compared to for-profit firms, as the PATH Foundation leverages personal and corporate donations of professional services and overhead to achieve their mission to build a system of interlinking greenway trails through metro Atlanta region.”
Georgia Legislators also voted to approve, later signed into Law by Governor Nathan Deal, a request by Brookhaven to increase the City’s Hotel/Motel tax from 5% to 8%, setting the tax on an equal plane to what DeKalb County already assesses. A portion of the increased tax proceeds will be dedicated to the plus or minus, $38 million Peachtree Creek Greenway project.
The first phase is expected to cost $9 million, which the hotel/motel tax is expected to be used to service a 20-year revenue bond. City estimates indicate the annual amount available for construction of the Peachtree Creek Greenway from an increase in the hotel/motel tax rate to 8 percent, will be about $650,000 annually.
“The sellers want to sell and the buyers want to buy. So why use eminent domain? The selling price is the problem. The City is asking the court to help establish the price as determined by professional appraisers,” PCG says. “Peachtree Creek Greenway, Inc. supports the City of Brookhaven’s use of eminent domain in this specific case to determine a fair and equitable purchase price of the land at 1793 Briarwood Rd, Brookhaven, GA.”
There will be a hearing on this topic at Brookhaven City Hall, located at 4362 Peachtree Rd, on June 29th at 7:00 PM.
51 Comments
Janelle
Who’s included in the PCG?
The Brookhaven Post
More information can be found on their website. The Board of Directors is here. http://www.peachtreecreek.org/board-of-directors/
Heather
Of course they do- they wanted to take over backyards in Pine Hills, so don’t be surprised if they go back to that, you know “for the greater good”.
Brookhaven has already started bullying people regarding stream buffers. We had to get yet another land survey done at our house because Brookhaven was once again attacking it. Surprise, surprise – we are once again NOT in any sort of 75 ft violation- something which is pretty obvious to anyone that’s not seeing impaired.
Janine
Sooo WRONG! PCG Group? 10 more self-important people who think they know what’s best for everyone else. Just like the BPCA. Makes me sick.
Janelle
Thank you. Their website implies they’re a non-profit. Hotel Motel tax dollars can be diverted thru non-profits that regulate a special district, like the Peachtree Creek Greenway, for operating revenue, executive salaries and administration expenses with no cap.
The article mentioned ‘Group’. Thanks for clarifying 100 percent of the board supports eminent domain.
But we are special ....
We, the self important elites know what is best for you (walk, bike), the city (urban all the way baby!), and the environment (big buildings and wide sidewalks trees are for the birds) so stay out of our way or we will take it from you.
KHN
Brookhaven getting better & better. We need this, so excited! From what I’ve seen it’s going to be even better than the Beltline i.e. more picturesque & shadier than just a sidewalk (which is basically what the Beltline is). Great that the city is giving attention to this waterway and bringing it to life for all of us to enjoy! *Heather & Janine (and other naysayers) please refrain from making a snide comment @ me just b/c I have a difference of opinion.*
Barbara
So Brookhaven adopts a 75 buffer/wetlands ordinance and then uses that ordinance to devalue property and offer lower than the owner wants to take? Since he wont sell, the city takes their BS number to a judge to force the sale. This is the leadership of Sigman at its best. How the hell we all thought Garrett was so bad is crazy, this city manager needs to be removed, now.
Does this mean that any resident of Brookhaven living near a wetland or stream will be paid for the city all but TAKING their land too???
Susan
This is the Brookhaven that the majority wanted.
Welcome to your Brookhaven.
Susan
Ha! Not the majority, just a chosen few! And that isn’t me and you!
Andy
You are just going to love the aroma that permeates the area around the creek bank! Ode de Toilet!
Thomas Porter
June 29, 2017 – Mayor & City Council decide whether to use eminent domain.
June 30, 2017 – Mayor & City Council dedicate controversial Comfort Women memorial.
November 7, 2017 – Half the City Council comes up for reelect, or not.
Betsy Eggers
Yes, the Peachtree Creek Greenway, Inc. is an all-volunteer non-profit (501c3) with a small budget that we raise. We get no funds from the City. We are a grassroots advocacy group.
Eddie E.
What was the buffer ordinance under Dekalb County?
The first bogus Brookhaven government just ignored the law and reality.
The buffer should be 150 feet.
If you don’t want to buy and protect valuable collective water resources, don’t!
lawnman
I need to get my mower, set it as low as possible and cut that grass. I wonder what the end cost yearly will be for maintenance and police patrols for an understaffed police department. Anyone have any cost projections?
Brandi
What is wrong with comfort women memorial?
Facts are Fun
A few things. (1) the stream buffer is identical to the DeKalb ordinances–nothing has changed with Brookhaven, (2) the city has actually offered more than the original asking price when the property was listed several years ago, but the owner jacked the price when he found a “captive” buyer.
This City is using legal tools to negotiate a sale price. It would be an irresponsible use of taxpayer $$$ to NOT use all means available to negotiate the best price.
Heather
My comment isn’t “snide”- it’s the truth. After 4+ surveys done by different reputable surveyors Brookhaven officials came by again, eyeballed our property- DIDN’T MEASURE IT THEMSELVES- and said “Oh well it still *looks like* closer than 75 ft to me!” So once again, we had to get yet another survey. It’s a waste of time and money- and not just ours- everyone’s taxes go to pay their salaries and I imagine gas and vehicle expenses as well. Once they came out- didn’t tell me they were here, and were snooping around our yard taking zoom lens pics of our house- including towards our open windows.
Possibly the most insane thing about having to get all these surveys that show the same thing is that there is an *entire house* between our property and the creek. This is also particularly nutso in regards to individuals saying there shouldn’t be dogs here.
Heather
What are they going to do to all the houses within 150 ft? Make us move? I’m not being sarcastic this is an honest question.
Barbara
Heather, you need to stop that. They can’t keep doing that to you, it is harassment. This city is no different than dekalb and we hire the same people they do. And that problem starts at the top with Christian Sigman and John Ernst. Once you have proven them wrong stop speaking to them, tell the manager they are not to be on your property again, if they do come call the police and have them issue a trespassing warning. Either way you need to hire and attorney to send a letter.
Barbara
1. I dont get a choice to buy “valuable water resources”, that decision is made for all of us
2. I have no issue with a buffer, I have an issue they they establish the buffer then use it as means to say property is worth less and demand a court to issue a sale.
3. This city government is run like a circus. We need drastic changes in leadership. Sigman must be removed as must the mayor and most of the council. This is everything we voted to stop when we became a city.
Barbara
So you think it is responsible for Brookhaven to spend countless thousands of our dollars to all but sue someone to force them to sell the land to the city? Thats responsible? If the guys wants $130,000,000 then thats what he wants. This is not for a highway, its for a park entrance. Why the hell do we have a park with no access anyway??? This is wrong.
Heather\'s
I got it. Those of us within the 150 ft buffer could just add a pond to our back yard. That would keep us from having to put a pool in the front yard! Problem solved!
Heather
Are you one of the men in my neighborhood that keeps coming by my house and staring? Just so you know, it’s starting to get a little creepy.
Heather
Thanks, everything finally worked out about a month ago (and hopefully it stays that way)- and not a second too soon because we started seriously considering selling our home and moving out of Brookhaven. We had our home appraised and a good percentage of stuff is in boxes. I’m not the type of person that just gives up, but dealing with both the city and neighborhood association and patrol problems it was just too much. Your home is a place you want to relax, not think, “Oh gawd what now” regularly.
Eddie E.
No new construction within 150′ anywhere. No “variances” for stream buffer incursion, ever again. No new hard surfaces within 150′. Any teardowns would require adjustment of the structure to meet the buffer.
This is entirely possible and is necessary for long term stream health.
That the county made terrible decisions on siting of structures and pavement in the past should never be interpreted as cause to continue making terrible decisions in perpetuity.
Eddie E.
Barbara, let me simplify. If your property has some artificially inflated value due to some ‘future use’ you may have in mind, the sooner you come to realize that use will not be allowed, the sooner you will realize what the actual value is.
Eddie E.
He could probably get that much if it could be permitted for a nuclear waste dump but it can’t and he won’t.
Thanks
I am proud that our city it honoring the sculpture and for the life of me I do not understand why people are freaking out.
Heather
Real estate agents are already steering clients away from buying homes with creek frontage for fear of continued use of eminent domain– so the devaluation of other properties has already started.
Heather
I’ve talked several real estate agents that are now advising people to stay away from creek/stream front properties in Brookhaven for fear of future eminent domain use– so this isn’t just hurting the seller it’s harming a good number of people that might like to sell or, at minimum, not have their home or property devalue.
Eddie E.
If the stream buffer is protected, there is no reason to be concerned.
Many people will even pay more for active, protective stewardship!
Saul
I talked to a realtor yesterday that said she had several people decline to look at Brookhaven homes because of negative things they had heard about our city government and some residents. I asked for details but she preferred not to elaborate. If true, that will discount your house a little too.
Eddie E.
Possibly, unless the buffer is rigorously enforced so there are not enormous costs for runoff contamination forced upon all city taxpayers.
Why would Brookhaven Residents be above the LAW?
Heather
I used to live on protected conservation land in Massachusetts and the way Brookhaven is running things could not be more different. . . .
Heather
No offense, but you really don’t know a lot of Brookhaven residents that well. One of the threats we got after offering to to completely sponsor (purchase and maintain) a dogipot on our corner was that Pine Hills residents should all save up their feces and drive it to our house and dump it in our yard.
Eddie E.
That’s nice.
That isn’t part of the discussion in Ashford Park.
Eddie E.
I realize you have a problem with a neighbor but I cannot comprehend what that has to do with appropriate stream buffer and protection?
Barbara
There is a reason so many new homes are sitting in Brookhaven and not elsewhere. This city is not run well and people know it. Sandy springs or Decatur is much better than the Christian sigman circus.
Barbara
Yeah, or we could all pay a little extra in taxes for you to move
Heather
The city literally did not measure- they eyeballed our property and said it “looked like” we were violating the stream buffer ordinance- despite multiple surveys showing otherwise.
How is this competent? It’s either incompetent or vindictive or petty.
And they did finally admit that we were NOT in violation, but only after wasting our time and money for surveys that all prove the same thing.
I feel like it’s worth noting that we have no political influence or construction etc contacts so it’s not like we were under suspicion of getting people to falsify our property surveys or something.
Eddie E.
Did you Major in missing the point?
Eddie E.
I believe there are homes for sale in Sandy Springs and Decatur if you find that so attractive.
Heather
For the record none of our neighbors’ surveys show we are violating the stream buffer ordinance or dispute/call in to question the validity of our many property surveys.
In fact they further prove that we are not violating any ordinance or breaking the law.
It’s all so exhausting.
Barbara
Do you remember the last time you were nice to anyone on this site? Good have you here, neighbor.
Ellen
LOL. Maybe Babs will move.
Eddie E.
If you are within the code, what is the concern?
Eddie E.
I’m nice to many.
I have a problem with anyone who pretends to be above the law.
Eddie E.
The concept of legitimate governance seems to give her the vapors.
Susan
Eddie, she has the vapors and you turn Japanese? LOL!
Heather
That I believe is the million dollar question.