DULUTH, Ga. — Some people with ties to a Gwinnett County community with historic African-American roots are pushing back against a Duluth proposal to use eminent domain to build new sewer lines.
The Duluth City Council voted unanimously Monday night to authorize the use of eminent domain to obtain one property and to acquire temporary easements for four others in The Hill community of Duluth. The area is off Church Street and Buford Highway.
Potential compensation information has not been disclosed.
“They don’t care about us,” said Tammy Rogers, who says her family has land in the community that is affected by the project.
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Rogers told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson that her late great-uncle first bought land in The Hill community of Duluth after Black families were forced out of Forsyth County in 1912.
“They were ran from Forsyth and a lot of migrated to The Hill area,” she said, “and now you’re going to tell them, ‘We’re going to do eminent domain.’”
The City of Duluth is looking to use American Rescue Plan Act funds along with partial funding from Gwinnett County to address aging septic systems in the area. City leaders stress no one will be displaced or relocated as part of this proposal and most of the eminent domain uses are for temporary easements.
“The Hill Neighborhood sewer project requires a combination of temporary construction easements, permanent easements and real property,” a spokesperson wrote in a written statement. “Most of the property acquisition involves obtaining easements and to date the City has been able to successfully negotiate with most of the property owners to obtain these rights.”
Out of 26 affected properties in the Hill and Pinecrest communities, city officials say four holdouts remain.
“We are continuing to work with the four remaining property owners in hopes that we can avoid filing condemnation actions,” the written statement read in part. “However, due to deadlines imposed by the American Rescue Plan Act funds we are having to move forward with the procedural steps necessary to acquire the property by condemnation if those efforts fail.”
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“Everything just came all of a sudden and we just don’t understand,” said Carol Brogdon-Dailey, who says property in her family is affected.
She says her late mother left a house on Washington Street in her family and the city needs part of the land for temporary construction.
She says her family hasn’t accepted a deal with the city because she wants to preserve their history.
“We were born in this community,” she said. “Me and my husband both.”
The City of Duluth released a statement to Channel 2 Action News that read,
“Given the possibility of litigation, the City is limited in what we can say at this time. For clarification, the City is using ARPA infrastructure funds as part of a joint project with Gwinnett County to bring sewer to the Hill Neighborhood. The project plans for installation of the sewer into the Hill Neighborhood were discussed at a community meeting on January 11, 2023, a council work session and were approved at a public meeting by the City Council on April 10, 2023. The City has been working for some time on acquiring necessary property interests to allow for the extension of sewer connections in three of our neighborhoods with aging septic systems. The Hill Neighborhood being one of the three.
The Hill Neighborhood sewer project requires a combination of temporary construction easements, permanent easements and real property. Most of the property acquisition involves obtaining easements and to date the City has been able to successfully negotiate with most of the property owners to obtain these rights. Of the 26 properties impacted, the city has successfully negotiated with all but four owners. We are continuing to work with the four remaining property owners in hopes that we can avoid filing condemnation actions, however, due to deadlines imposed by the ARPA funds we are having to move forward with the procedural steps necessary to acquire the property by condemnation if those efforts fail. We should also mention that none of the speakers from the meeting last night represent the four property owners related to the pending acquisitions. It should also be noted that no displacements or relocations result from the project.”
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