Amy Stanford and her sister Carolyn Wilson have spent 20 years at dinner, a family meal prep business that has served generations of local families in Brentwood, Missouri. Now she is one of several local small business owners who are suing the city over the decision to label their property “devast.”
Ongoing lawsuit filed in December 2023 Judicial Research Institute (IJ) says the city is abusering its power by calling prominent domains and pushing businesses out under the designation of suspicious blight. under Missouri lawa prominent domain can only be used for legitimate public purposes and is prohibited from calling it for private or economic development purposes. In the case of a dispute over public use, a judicial decision is required “regardless of the legislative declaration that the use is public.”
In July 2023, the city approved plans to redevelop the Manchester Road corridor with a new office building and apartment complex. City leader Discussed The redevelopment project was necessary to address sustained issues such as flooding and crime and generate new tax revenue.
The city justified its devastation designation using a 2023 study by urban planning company PGAV Planners. Urban Committee study Of the 75 properties in the redevelopment zone, 48 exhibited “physical degradation” and 26 were found to be free, sufficient to deplete the entire corridor.
Bob Belden, IJ’s lead lawyer in the case, argued that the study could not prove that the area had exhibited a “dominance” in a dangerous condition, as required to determine that it had destroyed an area required by Missouri law.
2023 Research Individual property analysis was lacking, with 75 properties containing only 40 photos. Some properties had multiple photos, others had nothing. The address in the photo was not provided, but some of it was merely an unidentified car park. Some photos showed the properties of cracked pavement, but no other properties such as dinner were photographed and no evidence of blight was presented.
IJ is fighting for evidence in court in the investigation, conducting a 2018 devastation study conducted by the same company Brentwood used to protect its actions. That year, the city launched a $80 million flood mitigation project along Manchester Road. It was considered a success By Brentwood Mayor David Dimitt in 2022. During the trial that began in May this year, the city used local states before the project began as evidence of devastation.
Belden Fight The city should not be able to use the 2018 survey to retrospectively find the legitimacy of the blight designation. The city disagrees.
The city also misquoted the building’s age (that can’t be Considered in a devastated decision (as of 2021) it relies on speculative claims about danger rather than actual evidence for blight during trial.
Talk to reasonBelden says that Brentwood’s prominent domain claims are invalid. Because the devastated definition of a city that does not meet Missouri standards, based on minor issues such as paint and cracks in the driveway, is no longer a city definition. State laws say that it can only be considered devastated if the area is unsafe, improving degraded sites, a fire hazard, or other issues that put housing and public health, safety, or welfare at an advantage.
“Instead, what the city did here would be 100% broken if they identified one instance of peeling or cracking skin in the car park,” he says.
Photos of Brentwood landmarks, including city hall and police stations, were shown to the city’s Blight Consultant, an employee of PGAV who conducted the research during the trial, along with a minor loading dock damaged Target Store. When asked whether these properties could be devastated, the consultant agreed and noted the cracks in the police station’s parking lot. For more than 40 years, Minnesota architect and property inspector Dave Phillips testified that virtually all property could be considered devastated, including 70% of Brentwood’s residential stocks based on city building age standards.
Carter Maier, co-owner of Convergence Dance and Body Center, reports reason He initially supported the redevelopment plan until he realized the scope of the project. “We really love being here… We like our neighbors. We like our community,” says Maier. “We’re all for development and redevelopment, but not the forced way Brentwood City Hall is trying to do.”
Martin George, the landlord who filed the lawsuit and owner of the building’s feather craft fly fishing, shared his motives reason: “My own elected mayors did not represent me, they represented their mayors.” The frustration shared by Carolyn Wilson. reason, “[It’s] It was very clear what the city had decided before they started this, exactly what they were trying to do… They weren’t trying to find an alternative way to do it. And that’s the part that makes me irritate… There are other options. ”
The employer believed their problems had been resolved after the city’s previous flood mitigation project. Brent Woodbounda flood wall was built As improved.
Amy Stanford revealed reason The project has significantly disrupted business and customer access. “It was a mess as one bridge was rebuilt and the roads were completely closed for five months.”
Since the completion of Brentwood Bound, “things look even better than before,” Maeir said.
That’s why Brentwood’s prominent domain claims are so acini, and why critics described it as a grab for unconstitutional land.
Hello Real Estate Ventures, the Mayor of Brentwood City, members of the Mayor of Brentwood, and the developers selected for the project, did not respond. reasonRequest a comment.
The trial ended with a bench trial on May 9th. After the trial, the city moved for the instructed verdict, claiming lack of sufficient evidence. IJ has submitted a motion to oppose it. Once the trial transcript is shared with the parties, there will be 30 days to submit the proposed findings of facts and conclusions, along with a decision that is expected by late August.
