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26
years ago we embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. We purchased a flower shop in suburban Atlanta. We invested in Stockbridge Florist and
Gifts, and knew that if we were successful, we'd have a nest egg
later. Having used our earnings to finance three college educations for our
children, we always counted on the business and property to be there
until we were ready to sell. And in 2003, we
believed that our dream had come true and our work had paid off.
A
private developer wanted to buy our property. And the
offer was amazing. $743,000 cash and new land to relocate our
family's flower shop. As we learned the true fair-market
value of our land, unfortunately, so did Stockbridge city
leaders. And they suddenly had their own idea.
We
believe the
city government made it impossible for us to sell our property
because it wanted it. And government leaders would
stop at nothing to get it so a multi-use town center could be
built by, believe it, a private developer.
Unwilling
to pay us anything near a fair-market value, and nowhere close
to the private developer's offer, the city quietly rezoned our
property, making it impossible for the developer to proceed with
redevelopment plans. The
land we'd worked so hard for was being devalued before our eyes,
by our own elected officials. And once the land was deemed
so worthless, city leaders began the process of eminent domain.
In short, they sought to take the earth from beneath us... all
in the name of the "public good." The City of
Stockbridge sought to take our private
property (which they'd made worth substantially less), mark up the price and re-sell it to a private
developer. To do it, the City of Stockbridge then altered their
plans, moving a new city hall much closer to our property - something observers and some
state officials believed was necessary as a reason to take our
land. Our story quickly took on a
life of its own.
Our
story has appeared on Fox News, CNN, CBS and a host of local
television stations. We've been written about in
newspapers. And for a minute, we thought we were getting ahead.
After
negotiations with the city failed, elected officials began the
process of condemning our land. Our flower shop was
labeled a slum during city council meetings and our business was on
the verge of failing. We found real trouble. We
saw it as stealing. The Court overturned the condemnation.
After
a lengthy court battle, we won. Or did we? We saved
our flower shop from condemnation, but it came at a price.
More than $300,000 in legal fees and expenses. More than
our share of pain. And more signals the city hasn't yet
finished its work.
The
city has built a solid brick wall surrounding three sides of our
property. In this era of fiscal conservatism a new, giant,
palatial city hall complete with fountains towers over our shop
at a cost to taxpayers of more than $30 Million. We work in the literal shadow of city leaders who we are convinced are
still trying to further devalue our already-worthless land and
force its sale.
You
can help. We want to sell our land to you, at least a
share of it. Your contribution of as little as $25 will
help restore our finances, pay our legal fees and,
eventually, help to form the Private Property Project - a
future non-profit aimed at preventing this abuse from happening
to anyone ever again. But we'll need your help.
In
return for your contribution, you will receive a representative deed
in the mail. The official deed with all partners' names
will be recorded at the Henry County, Georgia Courthouse.
Why are we doing this? We're doing this because we're still fighting. We're not
giving up.
Click
here to learn more on how you can help.
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