Topic: Blight

Redevelopment firestorm still going strong

By David W. Shelton | February 13, 2008 |

Mayor Johnny Piper’s letter to affected residents attempts to ease concerns

The Clarksville Center Redevelopment Plan (CCRP) has been met with extreme opposition from residents in the affected area, who jokingly (or not) call their part of Clarksville “Blightville.” I’ve had the opportunity to attend a few of the meetings where the plan was discussed, and as a member of the Human Relations Commission, I’ve been on quite a few of the email lists where this topic has been the point of a lot of major contention. This has been so important that City Mayor Johnny Piper has distributed a letter to affected residents, which reads in part:

Recently, a group calling itself the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition has been distributing a flier that has false and misleading information about the redevelopment plan. I am particularly concerned with the allegation that the City desires to take property from business owners and residents and sell it to developers as part of eminent domain.

The flier states: “Your property can be condemned by a majority vote of the City Council and then resold to private developers.”

Please do not be frightened into believing what the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition is misrepresenting about the plan. The City of Clarksville has no intentions of taking your property. The redevelopment plan ordinance actually makes it harder for any government to exercise eminent domain. There are many layers of protection for property owners built into the ordinance that are not being revealed to you in these fliers distributed by the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition.

Note: the full text of the Mayor’s letter is provided at the end of this commentary.

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An open letter about the “blight” ordinance

By Katrina Gunn | February 7, 2008 |

I sent this letter opposing the Clarksville Center Redevelopment Plan to Clarksville City Mayor Johnny Piper and all twelve City Council members on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008. So far I have only received four replies.

To my elected representatives:

As a registered voter and a property owner I am extremely concerned and alarmed about the so-called “blight” ordinance, 73-2005-06. I live within the area designated as “blight” by this ordinance, and am beyond disappointed at both this current city council plus administration as well as with the former city council plus administration.

I NEVER received proper notification of this ordinance in any stage of its development. I received absolutely nothing in 2006 when it was up for its first reading, nor did I receive anything this past fall when it finally was scheduled for a second reading. Had I received proper notice of this you would have certainly heard and read my thoughts long prior to today. This document should have never been passed.

Continued below the fold…

Editor’s Note: The Clarksville Property Rights Coalition is asking that people who oppose the redevelopment ordinance to attend tonight’s city council meeting wearing red. The public address period begins at 7:00pm, while the official city council meeting starts at at 7:30pm. The council meeting is being held at the Board of Education building, which is located at 621 Gracey Avenue (approximately where the old Acme Boot building was on Crossland).

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‘Blight’ ordinance should be repealed

January 11, 2008 |

The Clarksville City Council should rescind the “blight” ordinance. Start over. Make it right for the city and its residents.

Mayor Johnny Piper made the right decision in opting to cancel the public meeting on Ordinance 73-20050-06, acting on suspicion and subsequently on information that the the Downtown District Partnership and the City Council did not practice “due diligence” or follow state law in preparing, submitting and approving this plan. Over the past six weeks, Piper fired salvos toward former DDP members, stating there “may have been instances that they [DDP] did not follow state law.”

That was one of the questions raised by members of the grassroots citizen group comprised of property owners and taxpayers, Clarksville Property Rights Coalition, who challenged the legality and the morality of the ordinance and have been proved right.

We had the opportunity to listen to residents from the affected area in a meeting last month. After reading the bill in depth and listening to everyone involved, We are fully convinced that this ordinance needs to be abjectly rejected by the County Commission and immediately repealed by the City Council. It’s a rotten piece of legislation that has the danger of being precedent setting. If it sticks, then it will be even more dangerous. Hundreds of people have been attended various meetings in the last two months regarding the ordinance. Even more have been outspoken against it, including City Mayor Johnny Piper.

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Property Rights Coalition, Councilor Harris seek “blight” ordinance repeal

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 10, 2008 |

“It’s all just a big mess.”

Those words summed up the state of the city, City Council, and the Downtown District Partnership regarding the now infamous “blight” ordinance.

The Clarksville Property Rights Coalition met tonight at Austin Peay State University to review the status of a redevelopment ordinance put on hold by Mayor Johnny Piper when it was found to be in violation of state law.

Originally, the Downtown District Partnership had scheduled an informational meeting to explain what were termed “misconceptions” about the ordinance, which declares two square miles and 1823 properties in downtown Clarksville, with the solitary exception of Austin Peay State University, were declared blighted as part of an ambiguous redevelopment plan.

The DDP had suggested that the property in that area were “misinformed” about this legislation. As it turns out, the DDP “failed to use due diligence” and violated state law.

The mayor’s findings and the cancelled meeting brought satisfaction to the citizen’s group who felt their concerns about the ordinance have been substantiated. «Read the rest of this article»

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Who’s minding the store? Citizen demands oversight, not “a blind eye”

By Shirley Berardo | January 10, 2008 |

This letter was written prior to the cancellation of the DDP redevelopment meeting. However, it’s message is one that deserves an airing, so Clarksville Online has opted to run it with the caveat that, for now, the controversial blight ordinance is on hold.

The Clarksville Center Redevelopment Plan (CCRP) was approved recently by the City Council. On Thursday, January 10, 6:00PM, at Austin Peay State University’s Clement Auditorium, a meeting is scheduled at which the DDP (Downtown Business Partnership) and City officials will answer questions about the Plan.

The Plan is being challenged by concerned residents of Clarksville’s historic districts and downtown areas, the Tennessee State Historic Commission, the Tennessee Preservation Trust, and others because it contains unclear language. The document uses the term “Blighted” in describing the entire Clarksville downtown area, (with the exception of property owned by APSU), which allows for homes to be taken via eminent domain by private developers. Public meetings prior to the approval of the document were limited. No letters were sent; many in the Plan area were not even aware such a document existed prior to the Council vote this past September. «Read the rest of this article»

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DDP redevelopment meeting canceled; Piper to recommend amendment

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 9, 2008 |

Failure to use due diligence, failure to follow state law cited…tumbles “blight” ordinance…

Coalition group to meet 6 p.m. today in APSU’s Clement Auditorium, in lieu of the previously planned city meeting…City Council members invited to attend…

Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper, has taken a bold step and reversed direction on the “blight” ordinance. He has decided to cancel a community meeting that was scheduled for Thursday evening at Austin Peay State University, where members of the Downtown District Partnership were to review the Clarksville Center Redevelopment Plan. The meeting was planned to allow the DDP the opportunity to inform property owners in the redevelopment area about the plan that they developed and recommended to the City Council.

“I have great concerns about how this was handled and presented to the City Council by the DDP,” Mayor Piper

The Mayor’s office has received many phone calls and comments from concerned residents over the past few weeks on this issue. In addition, the formation of the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition (CPRC), fueled by angry residents of the downtown area, and two standing room-only grassroots public meetings, provided a highly visible evidence of public discontent with the ordinance and the way it was developed and presented. «Read the rest of this article»

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Piper denies Property Rights group “air time” in “blight” hearing at APSU

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 9, 2008 |

The issue is redevelopment, but the word that triggers the wrath of downtown property owners is “blight.” To shed light on this controversial issue the city will hold a public meeting and present its take on the redevelopment plan on Thursday.

However, Mayor Johnny Piper has denied a request by the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition for equal time to air their view of the “blight bill” during a hearing to be held at Austin Peay State University’s Clement Auditorium Thursday at 6 p.m.

Atty. John Summers requested a time equal to the that of the city’s presenters to offer the concerns of the affected residents. Since the Downtown District Partnership is presenting a 15-minute program, that would have given property owners their own 15-minute voice on the issue before the question and answer session begins.

Ordinance 73-2005-06, passed in November, 2007, designates two square miles and 1800 homes and businesses in downtown Clarksville as “blighted” and potentially subject to eminent domain as the Downtown District Partnership’s Clarksville Redevelopment Plan and Land Use Master Plan are implemented over the next several years. «Read the rest of this article»

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Property Rights Coalition seeks equal time to air information at “blight” hearing

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 8, 2008 |

The Steering Committee of the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition has requested that the CPRC, and the groups who are working with us, the Tennessee Preservation Trust and the Clarksville NAACP, be afforded the same opportunity as the Downtown District Partnership to make a presentation to the City Council at the June 10th Informational Meeting on the Clarksville Center Redevelopment Plan.

That meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at Clement Auditorium as Austin Peay State University, which is the only downtown property not affected by the redevelopment plan’s “blight” designation.

In November, 2007, the City Council passed an ordinance declared two square miles of downtown Clarksville as “blighted” for purposes of redevelopment. Homeowners caught unaware by the ordinance and its implications in terms of eminent domain and “blight” form a quick and fast protest and have called for the rescinding of that ordinance.

The CPRC, the TPT, and the NAACP requested a minimum of 30 minutes to address the Council on June 10th, time to be allocated among our three organizations, or an equal amount of time as provided to the DDP (Downtown Development Partnership), if they are given more than 30 minutes. «Read the rest of this article»

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