Topekans to Protest Eminent Domain by the City: WIBW-TV13, Topeka KS, 1/13/07

As the City of Topeka plans a renovation that could benefit East Topeka, some residents are resisting the City's efforts to to exercise its eminent domain powers and plan to rally in front of the City Council Chambers at 5:45 pm Tuesday to draw attention to their concerns.

The City plans to redo the intersection where 10th St. meets 6th St., and Golden Ave. and the methods by which some properties the City needs to seize have some people questioning how the property was valued.

The group is charging that the appraiser the City hired is "writing suspiciously biased appraisals and using false information to under-value some property in the area." They also claim that attempts to examine the details of the appraisals have received resistance or been flatly denied.

The group says one longtime area business may have to permanently close down an many residents and business owners have been put off by the City's tactics.

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WIBW-TV13, Topeka KS: http://www.wibw.com