Please welcome Nell Carson to It's Not All Gravy. No cookies today, but how about a nice piece of Gingerbread courtesy of ALL RECIPES.COM I thought that apropos considering then title of Nell's new book.
Thank you, Maryann, for inviting me to guest post!
I thought I’d write today about a subject I learned a good deal about
while writing my second novel, The Gingerbread House—historical preservation.
In the book, Greta Kendall, is fighting to save her beloved Queen
Anne house from being torn down by a company bent on putting up a new mall on the site.
While researching the ins and outs of historical preservation laws, I
read about a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 2005 (Kelo v. City of New London)
in which the court decided that under Eminent Domain a city can legally take
someone’s private property—their home—and transfer it to another party, in this
case a developer, against the will of the homeowner.
In the Kelo case, the City of New London in Connecticut condemned Susette Kelo’s Victorian home
that had been renovated only three years earlier, along with several others, so a developer could
build a new marina. Kelo took to the courts, arguing that Eminent Domain should
mean for public purposes only, not for private development.
The power of
Eminent Domain is limited by the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment which
states that private property shall not be taken for public use without just
compensation. The city argued that the development was ultimately good for the
public by way of increased revenue. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court sided
with the city and Kelo’s home as well as her neighbors’ were slated for
destruction.
Rubbing salt into the wound, the city decided to charge the residents
rent for their property dating back to the start of the proceedings—five
years—claiming they were technically living on city property even though the
homeowners were fighting against the city’s actions. Thankfully the governor
intervened and the city eventually compensated the homeowners for their homes
and ultimately issued an apology.
Compensation and apologies aside, most of the homes were destroyed
and that can never be undone. No one knows this better than the renovation crew
in France that just a few weeks ago accidentally tore
down the 18th century chateau they were supposed to rehab instead of
the guest house. Oops
Another argument to support the use of Eminent Domain is to rid cities of blight, but as
Justice Anthony Kennedy said, ‘Blight is in the eye of the beholder’. An
enthusiastic rehabber might look at a blighted section of town and see an
opportunity to bring the historic structures back to life. In Denver, for instance, there’s our ‘LoDo’ or Lower
Downtown area of town, a former skid row turned tourist attraction with its
pricey restaurants and exclusive boutiques, run-down warehouses and factories
turned into expensive lofts and offices. Sure the old structures could have
been torn down to make way for more modern buildings but the character that
comes from age is priceless and that would have been lost forever. (I try to
keep this in my mind with each new wrinkle that pops up in the mirror!)
My husband and I are the proud owners of a 1922 bungalow that wasn’t in
the best shape when we bought it, and for five years we’ve been working on its
seemingly endless renovations, project by project. Slow going and expensive but
incredibly satisfying once it’s done. You have to really love something to work
so hard for it, and I can only imagine how horrible it would be to have it taken
away for the ‘greater good’. I feel for these people.
But I also feel for the city. We all demand top-notch schools, fire
departments, police, etc. but balk when it comes to tax increases. So what’s a
city to do? The money’s got to come from somewhere.
Unfortunately desperation
can lead to short-sighted action, in this case tearing down historic structures
in the hopes of a quick cash fix that ultimately didn’t even pan out in New London. In a sad twist to the Kelo case, the
developer couldn’t find enough funding and abandoned the project leaving only
an empty lot where the homes once stood. It was used as a dump for Hurricane
Irene debris in 2011. It now stands vacant.
I guess the solution, if it could be called that, would be to take
these situations on a case-by-case basis, objectively evaluate the finality of
the destruction versus the possible revenue that could be generated and make
smart decisions for both the long and short terms. I, for one, hope the
preservationists win out whenever possible. The state of the economy flows in
ebbs and tides but once these structures are gone, there’s no turning back.
Forever is a long time.
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| Coffee's hot. Enjoy! |
Nell's book, The Gingerbread House, is a sweet romance. Here is a link to a REVIEW I did last Sunday.
