Clarksville City Council backs eminent domain for Spring Creek Parkway project
A city street project that has been on the drawing board since well before Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts' administration is getting started as a key priority of his Transportation 2020+ Master Plan.
Development of Spring Creek Parkway — designed to intersect Trenton Road and Wilma Rudolph Boulevard, ultimately extending to Ted Crozier, Sr. Boulevard in Clarksville's main medical and retail districts — will likely include the use of eminent domain to gather and secure some of the property that lies in the projected corridor.
The Clarksville City Council supported an ordinance Thursday on the first of two readings that would "authorize the exercise of the right of eminent domain" for a portion of Spring Creek Parkway.
Two council members voted "no" on the measure — Trisha Butler and Ambar Marquis.
One council member who voted "yes," Karen Reynolds, said she did so with reservations because of her objections to eminent domain. The decision to build the road easily predates the current council and mayoral administration, and for her, that was the deciding factor.
The new Spring Creek Parkway is predicted to handle an estimated 40,000 vehicles per day, and officials hope it will help take some of the existing traffic congestion off Trenton Road, 101st Airborne Division Parkway, Needmore Road, Wilma Rudolph Boulevard, and even to some extent, Interstate 24, especially between exits 1 and 4.
Eminent domain refers to the power of the government to take private property and convert it into public use.
The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that the government may only exercise this power if it provides "just compensation" to the affected property owners.
Eminent domain on Rossview Road: Rossview Road debate: What strawberry farmer Billy McCraw told the county commission
Eminent domain is also being exercised for widening portions of Rossview Road. In the current case, Montgomery County, acting for the state Department of Transportation, has been involved in gathering property between International Boulevard and Kirkwood Road.
This process, too, has not come without some controversy, particularly for Rossview-area farmer Billy McCraw and his family who are directly affected, and outspoken on the matter.
The city is using eminent domain along the Spring Creek Parkway corridor to acquire some easements, property and rights-of-way for the road.
Officials maintain that doing so is for the greater public good because of how it is expected to "alleviate traffic and enhance the quality of life for city residents."
The city is working within a set of project deadlines. They add eminent domain is the best option available because, as the ordinance states, "it may not be possible to effectively negotiate timely easements and property acquisitions with the affected property owners ... and to negotiate consent and partial release of the property acquisitions from the owner's lending institutions prior to the date construction of the roadway begins."
"The eminent domain issue is sensitive," Pitts said, "but sometimes necessary to make public improvements. We follow a strict process that is deliberate and fair to the property owner and taxpayer.
"The Spring Creek Parkway planning has gotten us to the point where we have 15 parcels included in this ordinance," he said.
Of the 15, five are for temporary construction easements only. Another five are for permanent slope and drainage easements, plus temporary construction easements.
The final five on Pitts' list are for purchasing property from the owners, plus construction, slope and drainage easements
"Nine of the fifteen properties are waiting on mortgage release after getting agreement from the owner," he added.
Reach Jimmy Settle at jimmysettle@theleafchronicle.com or 931-245-0247. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to TheLeafChronicle.com.
This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Clarksville City Council backs eminent domain for Spring Creek Parkway project
