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Renton High, 1938. Ten years later Renton Memorial Stadium was built on 17 acres nearby, to provide the high school with a football and track stadium. The School Board voted this week to use eminent domain to enlarge this school site into the neighborhood around it.
I’ve been writing about eminent domain on two topics, the Renton School District and the proposed Asphalt Plant. In this post I share some of my personal background being on both sides of eminent domain actions, and discuss a little about when I think it is an appropriate tool.
Being on the receiving end:
My wife Cathy and I were on the receiving end of a condemnation action in 1988. We challenged the “public necessity” in Superior Court and won, but that does not always happen. The experience led to my 28-year service on Renton City Council.
I have been impacted by an eminent domain action directed at me and my wife in the past. That experience helps me understand what it is like being the subject of an eminent domain taking. Our trial also helped set a judicial precedent on the definition of “necessity,” that, according to my attorney, was cited in many later cases.
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