Council Had Deaf Ears Over Eminent Domain: (New London CT) Day, 5/3/05

Letter to the Editor

By Heather Grigsby, Uncasville
I read with amazement and confusion the comment by New London City Councilor Beth Sabilia in the article titled “NL, Norwich grappling with budget problems,” published April 30.

Ms. Sabilia said, “Nobody anticipated we would be where we are in terms of Fort Trumbull.” What did the city think would happen when the Institute for Justice took the case of seven homeowners in 2000 and pledged it would fight eminent domain all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court?

Did no one from the city even look into the Institute for Justice and see this was not some fly-by-night threat and that it meant business?

The City Council heard from many people at each council meeting about ways to compromise and get on with the project. These pleas fell on deaf ears except for Lloyd Beachy, who advised that “these people” will not go away.

So, tell me, after all these years, would it have been so bad to save the houses, give some a facelift and build everything the Municipal Development Plan required? After all, there was plenty of room to have it all.

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