Saturday, July 02, 2005
 
Kelover
City forces out 2 downtown businesses: Action follows high court ruling on eminent domain:
    Last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling approving a Connecticut city's plan to take private land by eminent domain may seem far away.

    But to John Revelli, whose family has operated a tire shop near downtown Oakland for decades, the implications hit home on Friday.

    A team of contractors hired by the city of Oakland packed the contents of his small auto shop in a moving van and evicted Revelli from the property his family has owned since 1949.

    "I have the perfect location; my customers who work downtown can drop off their cars and walk back here," said Revelli, 65, pointing at the nearby high- rises. "The city is taking it all away from me to give someone else. It's not fair."

    The city of Oakland, using eminent domain, seized Revelli Tire and the adjacent property, owner-operated Autohouse, on 20th Street between Telegraph and San Pablo avenues on Friday and evicted the longtime property owners, who have refused to sell to clear the way for a large housing development.
It's not fair, but late trends in our governance indicate that it's more fair for some than others.


- posted by Brian J. @ 11:09 AM
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