Klein ISD's actions highlight the ugly side of eminent domain
A Tomball family is fighting Klein ISD's efforts to condemn their land, which the district wants for a future high school, and the fight is generating community support for the family:
A Tomball family fighting the Klein school district's efforts to condemn 136 acres of land they have owned for over 60 years pleaded their case before the board of trustees Tuesday night.
Friends and strangers showed their support of the Lewis family, which owns the targeted property on the far northwest border of the Klein-Tomball school district, at the corner of Hufsmith-Kohrville Road and FM 2920, by loudly applauding the three speakers who voiced concerns over the condemnation lawsuit filed by Klein in August.
[snip]
Diana Browning, daughter of E.R. Lewis Jr., who inherited the property along with his brother, Royce, when her father, R.E. Lewis, passed away in the 1970s, asked board members to reconsider condemning land that belonged to her family — land that her family doesn't want to sell to the district.
Browning said the site is not a good location for one of Klein's future high schools for several reasons, including that it is next door to the Tomball school district and could one day be annexed by the city of Tomball.
She said she had researched Klein ISD's building plans and a sixth high school, which the land could be used for, may not be built for 20 years.
"Condemnation is supposed to be used as a last resort — when there is no other land available for the purpose it is to be used for," Browning said. "That is not the case here. There are several other properties available in the northwest part of the district. We are asking you to explore those options."
Browning suggested that the trustees would likely try to find another solution if their families owned the property.
Boy, isn't that the truth?!
Susan Gieseke, a Klein ISD resident who does not know the Lewis family, said many Klein residents and property owners felt threatened by the actions the district was taking.
"This will cause great problems for the district," Gieseke said. "It sends chills through the district.
"If you have not exhausted all other options before condemning this private property, then that flies in the face of one's constitutional right to own property."
Skip Warren, a Klein ISD resident who only recently met the Lewis family, said the district's actions were "just wrong."
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/16/05 09:01 AM | Print |
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