You Gotta Fight for Your Right for Private Property

There are many places in and around Washington, D.C. that symbolize the best of the United States including the monuments, museums, and Mount Vernon, Virginia, the home of the country’s first President George Washington.  Just a few miles down the road from Washington’s home there is a battle brewing over two of the most sacred rights that Americans hold dear, owning private property and not being strong armed by any level of government.

At the heart of the dispute in George Washington’s backyard is the issue of eminent domain.  Eminent domain is when a government seizes private property without the owner’s consent.  Typically, the property is taken for either government use, such as roads, utilities or public safety issues.  There are cases in which property is seized for economic development.*

This time eminent domain is rearing its ugly head in the city of Alexandria, Virginia involving the Old Dominion Boat Club (OBDC).  According to the Washington Examiner, OBDC has been fighting for its rights since 1973 when “the federal government tried to claim all land east of a 1791 high-water mark as part of the Potomac River.”  Since OBDC was found to have clear title to its riverfront boathouse and marina, the federal government could not claim public access.  And, just a mere four months after that verdict, “the Alexandria Planning Commission voted 6-1 to pass a $50 million Waterfront Plan that includes ODBC’s parking lot.”

Referring to the $50 million Waterfront Plan, the Washington Examiner noted that “The boat club declined the city’s offer of $150,000 for a 73-foot parcel along Strand Street, correctly noting that the offer was far too low for property that includes coveted parking spaces and a Wales Alley boat access to the river right in the heart of Old Town. Alexandria had two honorable options at that point: either raise the offer until the boat club voluntarily accepted it, or continue planning around the ODBC property.  Instead, Alexandria officials attempted to bully and harass ODBC into accepting the lowball offer by threatening to exert their power of eminent domain and by issuing an outdoor restaurant dining permit for the same alley that Circuit Court Judge John McGrath ruled in April could not be blocked or obstructed in any way to interfere with boat club members’ lawful use.”

The city of Alexandria needs to reconsider any use of eminent domain and ensure that the city that sits in the shadow of the Washington Monument and the home of George Washington be an example of a government that respects property rights.

*One of the more famous cases is Kelo v. New London which allowed eminent domain to be used to seize property for commercial purposes.  According to the Associated Press, “New London officials decided they needed Kelo’s land and the surrounding 90 acres for a multimillion-dollar private development that included residential, hotel conference, research and development space and a new state park that would compliment a new $350 million Pfizer pharmaceutical research facility.  Kelo and six other homeowners fought for years, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2005, justices voted 5-4 against them, giving cities across the country the right to use eminent domain to take property for private development.”