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Eminent Domain Abuse is Wrong
By Stuart Blaugrund
To me, there is something un-American about sweeping new plans to "revitalize" Downtown El Paso.
The Paso del Norte Group's (PDNG) secretly crafted redevelopment proposal appears to be steamrolling ahead. Existing neighborhood shops and businesses would be razed and replaced with more than 1 million square feet of "upscale" commercial space and more than 2,000 new residential units. If small business owners reject the "fair market price" being offered to squeeze them out, they will be forced out through the use of a potentially nefarious government power called eminent domain.
As a former El Pasoan whose family played a vital role in the city's Downtown retail and commercial activity for de cades, I am saddened and outraged by this threat to our heritage. The protection of homes, small businesses, and other private property rights against government seizures and unreasonable interference is one of our country's fundamental principles and a core commitment of our nation's founders.
But Mayor Cook fails to address the concerns of local merchants worried about their futures by stating that eminent domain will only be used "as a last resort." These hard-working entrepreneurs have spent years pursuing the American dream by investing in and growing companies built by their own hands. Now they find their businesses and their livelihood standing in the destructive path of the proposed redevelopment zone.
It's not like they can simply pick up and move. Mexican shoppers are the mainstay of El Paso's Downtown economy. According to the Texas Center for Border Economic and Enterprise Development, more than 14 million pedestrians crossed over El Paso's bridges from Mexico
during 2004 and 2005. Mexican nationals comprise 85-90 percent of retail sales Downtown.
Being forced to relocate farther away from the border will prevent these retail shops from benefitting from the daily foot traffic from Juárez. Many stores will never recover.
The PDNG plan calls for the formation of a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). Presumably, this trust would offer to buy properties for what it considers "fair market value."
However, those business owners who don't sell to the proposed REIT will undoubtedly face the prospect of condemnation proceedings. Faced with eminent domain, they likely will be forced to sell at a substantial loss.
These merchants should not be vilified for speaking out in defense of their fundamental rights. Nor should they be portrayed as obstructionists, intent on resisting "progress." These unfair attacks make me cringe.
Instead, these merchants should be applauded for their contributions to El Paso's economy. Bullying them out of their properties and ruining their businesses is wrong and un-American. Don't let it happen.
Stuart Blaugrund is a native El Pasoan and a partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in Dallas. His family owned and operated several Downtown furniture stores after emigrating from Czechoslovakia almost 100 years ago.
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